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Williams Design Studio

Posted in Businesses in Bethany, tagged , , , , , , on December 11, 2012| Leave a Comment »

Williams Design Studio

Williams Design Studio in Bethany, Ontario

Last week, Jeff and I took a road trip so I could meet some of the local businesspeople in Bethany that I wanted to profile for the blog.  We visited the Guitar Boutique at the Ranch Resort and our second visit was a stop at the Williams Design Studio, on 7A, right in the middle of town.

Art, crafts, metalwork and more

leather sculpture

Leather sculpture
‘Sisters of Andromeda’
by Beverly Williams

It was a strange experience opening the door to Williams Design Studio in Bethany.  Strange in a good way, because as soon as I stepped inside, I instantly remembered visiting the studio at least fifteen years ago.  It was the leatherwork on the walls that triggered the memory, the faces worked into the folds of the material.  I had never seen such art before, or since.

Return visit or not, it was impossible not to feel comfortable with the Williams.  They are warm and welcoming, full of enthusiasm for their art and for Bethany.

I’m neither artistic, nor do I know much about art, but I know what I like, and I like the different styles of the Williams’ artwork.  There are the decorated gourds that are Beverley’s specialty, the leatherwork displayed on the walls, the metal work, the tree structures, each piece with their own style and showcasing Paul and Beverley’s unique vision.

With my parents living in Cobourg, I recognized the Copper Maple Tree Paul created that is hanging in the lobby of the Best Western in Cobourg, with over 800 copper leaves!  There are other Trees created by Paul hanging in the Evinrude Centre, the Omemee Medical Centre and the Millbrook Medical Centre.

Copper Maple Tree

Copper Maple Tree hanging in the lobby of Best Western, Cobourg, Ontario by Paul Williams

Paul and Beverly Williams

Paul and Beverley Williams in their Design Studio

Ties to Bethany

Paul and Beverley Williams have been living in Bethany since 1977.  They had been living in Whitby and during a search for a studio/home outside the city they stumbled across Bethany one weekend.

It felt like home to them.

The Williams Design Studio studio was formerly the Antique Store owned by Norman White, and before that was the Grocery Store and Meat Market.  It seems like fate brought them into the area in the form of the old schoolhouse. that they were interested in.  While they were investigating the possibility of establishing their studio within the schoolhouse, they came across the Antique Store in town.

It seemed like a better fit for the couple.

Renovations are trying during the best of times, but only more so during a extra cold and snowy winter and while Beverly was pregnant.  But they persevered and the result is a studio providing a welcoming look at the talent in the art community of the area.

Paul and Beverly know their history of the area as well as their studio.  Research into Paul’s family history showed that he was a descendant of Michael Sisson, who was one of ten children born to John and Mary, one the founding families of Bethany.  Mr. Sisson made a mark for himself in Bethany by being the first to introduce a new and improved breed of sheep to the area, brought over from Scotland.  As well, Levi Sisson, one of John and Mary’s grandchildren, was an early proprietor of the general store where the Design Studio now is.  That origin wooden building was destroyed along with half the town in the fire of 1911.  The general store was rebuilt, as was the town hall.  So in a way, it was home for them.

Rolling Hills Studio Tour

Rolling Hills Studio Tour
Mother’s Day Weekend
May 11-12, 2013

Rolling Hills Studio Tour and More

Paul and Beverley are artists and do all they can to encourage the development of the area’s art community.  They participate in the Rolling Hills Studio Tour, Mother’s Day weekend, next year which will take place on May 11-12, 2013.  This tour is a must see for the area, since it lets you explore the artists’ studios as you drive through the beautiful rolling hills of Manvers Township.  As well the Williams have their Christmas Open Studio Show, going on now until December 24.  They will be at the Peterborough Garden Show April 12-13, 2013 and taking part in the Lake Scugog Studio tour on May 4-5, 2013.  More importantly, their Secret Garden is open Mother’s Day to the end of September and is worth the drive to Bethany to take a look.  I’m planning on coming back next year to visit and see the water features and fountains.

Secret Garden

Williams’ Secret Garden
Water feature in fairy garden

I really enjoyed the visit to the Williams’ Design Studio and meeting Beverley and Paul.  Their artwork is beautiful and unique and creative and they are the  epitome of what embracing small town life is like.

Williams Design Studio

Williams Design Studio

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City Of Kawartha Lakes

Posted in Day to Day Life, tagged , , on November 23, 2012| Leave a Comment »

City of Kawartha Lakes up for Most Interesting City

Kawartha Spirit

City of Kawartha Lakes logo

When I was growing up outside Port Hope, there was no City of Kawartha Lakes.  There was Lindsay (Uncle Jim lived there), Bobcaygeon (friends had a cottage there) and Omemee (home town of Neil Young).  Bethany wasn’t on my radar until I met Jeff, although I had driven through it several times.  I think we used to stop at Cavan for ice cream, which is pretty close.  Cavan isn’t part of the City of Kawartha Lakes, but is worth mentioning because of the ice cream.

But now those little towns and communities, all of Victoria County actually, are all part of the City of Kawartha Lakes.

Why am posting about the City of Kawartha Lakes you ask?  Sure, Bethany’s part of it, but based on size alone, not a big part.  I found a news article about how a Lindsay lawyer has entered Kawartha Lakes in the Reader’s Digest contest for Most Interesting City.  And I thought that was – well, interesting.

So here’s a little bit on the City of Kawartha Lakes.

Communities Within City of Kawartha Lakes

  •  Bethany
  • Burnt River
  • Bobcaygeon
  • Cameron
  • Coboconk
  • Fenelon Falls
  • Janetville
  • Kinmount
  • Kirkfield
  • Lindsay
  • Litle Britain
  • Norland
  • Oakwood
  • Omemee
  • Pontypool
  • Rosedale
  • Sebright
  • Woodville
  • Cambray
  • Dalrymple

City of Kawartha Lakes came about because of the Progressive Conservative’s ‘Common Sense Revolution’ back in 2000.  The provincial government were big into amalgamating back then, for Victoria County as well as the rest of Ontario.  Quite a few towns and village were  grouped together in the City of Kawartha Lakes, but most are rural little communities. Are they happy about being grouped together?  Well, you’d have to ask them.  Like anything the government does, there are advantages – possibly tax benefits and streamlining bureaucracy, if that is at all possible – and disadvantages – losing your community identity?  I’m not getting into that here, because as one of the posts on my other blog pointed out, I don’t like conflict and I don’t know enough to make an educated opinion on the matter.

I will, though give a little bit more about the City. The City of Kawartha Lakes is a municipality in Central Ontario, the size of a typical Ontario county.  It’s mostly rural with some urban areas, including the largest city, Lindsay.  Kawartha is a First Nations word meaning ‘bright waters and happy lands’ and with over 200 lakes in the area, it’s obvious why it was named City of Kawartha Lakes.   The Trent Severn Waterway runs through the centre of the City and a network of rivers and locks links the Pigeon, Sturgeon, Cameron, Balsam, Mitchell, Scugog and Canal Lakes together.

Liftlocks

Liftlocks in City of Kawartha Lakes

The City is on the northeast border of the Greater Toronto Area and close to several major highways, including 401, 407, 7, 35 and 115, giving the area easy access to larger cities, but still within its pretty rural region. Population: 75,565 (Source: Statistics Canada, 2006 Census)

LIFESTYLE

  • 35 Recreational Parks
  • 3 Provincial Parks
  • 3 Conservation Areas
  • 200 + Lakes
  • 386km of Trent Severn Waterway
  • 23 Beaches and Resorts

EDUCATION

  • 1 Post Secondary School
  • 30 Elementary & High Schools
  • 10 Daycare Facilities

HEALTHCARE

  • 1 Hospital
  • 6 Medical Centres

Most Interesting Town in Canada Contest

Like I said, the reason for this week’s post is because The City of Kawartha Lakes has the opportunity to be named “Most Interesting City in Canada”.  Jason Ward, founder of Haunt Your Home has entered the city in Reader’s Digest ‘Canada’s Most Interesting Towns’ contest for most community spirit.   The Lindsay native certainly shows his community spirit with his Haunt Your Home website and wanted to show the rest of the country just how much spirit the town has!   To have Lindsay, part of the City of Kawartha Lakes, named Town with the Most Community Spirit would be a great boon for the area, benefiting local businesses, economy and tourism.

Life in a small town is quite different than in a larger urban area.  I live in Toronto and the most spirit this city shows as a whole is when one of the sport teams steps up and shows the rest of the world what they’re made of.   Which, unfortunately, isn’t very often.   The only way I could  see the entire city coming together as a whole would be if the Leafs made it to the Stanley Cup.  Which would entail them to be at least starting the season, so you know it’s not going to happen this year. But in a small town, it’s easy for the community to come together.  Santa Claus parades will often see a good chunk of the population come to watch. Festivals, fairs, tournaments, events at the schools – small towns come together.

To be able to showcase a small town’s community spirit would be a great thing.  To have Lindsay – part of City of Kawartha Lakes, in which my little Bethany is part of – show Canada it’s spirit would be amazing and would give a snapshot of what life is like in a small town.   The City of Kawartha Lakes is great place to live and visit and it’s about time the area got a little well-deserved recognition!

Cast your vote for City of Kawartha Lakes to be one of the Most Interesting Towns in Canada! http://www.readersdigest.ca/cmit

Fall in City of Kawartha Lakes

Fall in City of Kawartha Lakes

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Learning in Bethany

Posted in Day to Day Life, tagged , , , on November 12, 2012| 2 Comments »

Learning in Bethany- A Quick View of Neighbourhood Elementary Schools

Planning on moving your family into Bethany Village?  Here’s some information about Grandview Public School and Rolling Hills Public School.

Grandview Public School

Grandview Public School

Grandview Public School in Bethany, Ontario

Grandview is a JK-Grade 4 school with 290 students.   The two elementary school have been organized Jk-4 and grades 5-8 for the last 15 years, when the new school was built.

This year the school has 5 blended Jk/SK classes with students attending school on alternate days.  Grandview Public School also favours the newly implemented ‘Balanced School Day’.   Rather than breaking up the day with the traditional recess/ lunch breaks, a balanced school day operates by breaking up the blocks of learning times by nutrition breaks.  There is no change to the number of teaching minutes per day, nor do the students miss out on recess minutes.   Some of the benefits to this new system are

  • Fewer behaviour problems
  • Greater ability to concentrate
  • Improved student learning

Grandview has the usual extra-curricular activities, but two struck me as interesting for a public school – weaving and playing the ukele!

The school fosters a close relationship between home and school, believing that parental involvement can only lead to a greater success for all.

Rolling Hills Public School

Rolling Hills Public School

Rolling Hills Public School

Rolling Hills Public School consists of grades 5-8 and has 230 students in attendance.   They also favour the ‘Balanced School Day’.

The school seems to be extremely community services orientated with the MAD – Making a Difference – Crew being at the centre of school activities.   The new principal at Rolling Hills, Sheila Shauf tells me she is very impressed by the participation of students, staff and parents in the community service events.   Another fundraising activity the students are involved in is Hoops for Hope and the parents at the school host a Festival Dinner with help from local businesses. The students strive for a high level of academic excellence along with their extra-curricular activities.  They recently gathered over 1800 pounds of food for a food drive!

I checked out the school websites and was very impressed with the individual teacher’s websites.  They included information on homework assignments, what’s ahead and special days and events.  During this time that so many teachers are taking a ‘pause’ from extra-curricular activities, to find so many at one school putting their own time and effort into something which would be so refreshing for students and parents.

Check out the schools at Grandview and  Rolling Hills 

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Winter is Just Around the Corner!!

Posted in Businesses in Bethany, tagged , , , , , , , , , on November 7, 2012| Leave a Comment »

Devil’s Elbow Ski Area

The trees around Bethany Ontario are looking bare and snow has already been sighted.  The wind has a familiar bite and it’s time for many to start thinking about ski season!!!

Those in Bethany know all about one of the great winter attractions of the Kawarthas – Devil’s Elbow Ski Area. Tucked away in the rolling hills of Manvers Township, it is minutes away from Peterborough, Lindsay, Port Hope and Oshawa and just up the road from Bethany Village.

John and Velfred Holmberg, owners of Devil’s Elbow Ski Area

There is something for everyone at the Elbow, from novice to expert,

Ski Patrol

skiers and snowboarders alike. And this year, there are an additional 2 terrain areas to enjoy. Lineups aren’t an issue with 6 chairlifts and 8.5 km of trails winding through forests for the Nordic skiers.

Open to the public every day, except Christmas Day, 9:00 a.m. – 4:30 p.m., December – March.  This might make me unpopular with the non-skiers, but I really hope there’s more snow than last year!

Last weekend was the Annual Open House at Devil’s Elbow Ski Area.  It was a reunion of sorts, with great opportunities to take advantage of pre-season discounts to buy a season pass, register for lessons and racing programs – Alpine, snowboarding and junior racing- and meet the ski patrol.

Bethany Parnell

And many enjoyed Parnell’s Ski Swap and Sale!  Skiis could get tuned up and it was great chance to meet up with old friends.  The concession stand was open and ready for business and the kids got some pre-ski season exercise running up and down the hills. It was a fun weekend with everyone preparing for the upcoming season!

Cory Parnell, host of Annual Parnell Ski Swap and Sale

Twins Audrey and Hannah and Kailyn, Betty Ann and Carol at ‘The Grill’

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Who’s Building in Bethany?

Posted in Businesses in Bethany, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , on October 30, 2012| Leave a Comment »

Evergreen Home and Cottage, for one.

Cedar Glen

I’ve always liked research. When I was in school, I always liked getting projects or essays – assignment that would take me into the library, digging through books and papers to find that elusive quote or statistic that would tie everything together. I look at this blog as an on-going research assignment. I’ve been discovering lots of information about Bethany and there is tons more out there, about the businesses and people that make the village of Bethany into a community. I hope to be a resource for those doing their own research if they are looking to make a move into the area.

For this post, I thought I would look into one of the builders who are offering the new homes in Bethany Village.
Evergreen Home and Cottage is a custom home and cottage builder/renovator. Owned and operated by Randy and Cathy Burke. They decided to open their own construction business in 2000 after

The Maples

returning to Canada from volunteering in West Africa and now have a staff of between 12 and 20, depending on the time of the year.

Oak Ridge

There are two things I found very impressive about Evergreen – other than the really nice houses they build. (I’ve included pictures!) The first thing is how they offer cost-effective design solutions for people with physical disabilities, so that they can work and live more independently. Evergreen Accessibility began in response to the aging population in Canada with the realization that many will need modifications to their homes in order to remain comfortable and safe. They have worked with architectural firms specializing in accessible construction as well as client-requested work. Randy was a committee member with the Canadian Home Builders Association on their Accessibility Roundtable and in 2008, Evergreen won the City of Kawartha Lakes Accessibility Award for Excellence in Design. The services they provide are intended to provide solutions for people who require improved access in a workplace, home, or cottage setting. Since Jeff works quite a bit with clients with mobility challenges, I thought having a builder in Bethany who is able to focus on helping their clients achieve greater accessibility in their homes and cottages is a great fit.

The other fact about Evergreen is that their sister company, Evergreen Power, has been designing and installing renewable energy systems since 2006 – solar photovoltaic systems. Their N.E.W (Natural Energy Worldwide)

Randy and Cathy Burke

project was launched in recognition of Randy and Cathy’s concern for the underprivileged in our world today and their sincere desire to give back where it is needed most.
Cathy told me about how in their time overseas, they encountered great poverty and difficult conditions which inspired their charitable attitude and their hope to help improve the lives of others less fortunate. Along with offering PV systems to cottage customers who are located far from existing power lines, Evergreen was also awarded a contract to design and install 10 kW grid-tied PV systems on 14 schools across the province. They also donated Solar PV Microfit and Solar thermal systems in the Community Care facility in Lindsay.

And not only that, but Evergreen Power COO Tim Burke will be fulfilling the company’s desire to give back when he travels to Haiti to install a PV system in a new school in the earthquake affected zone. The photovoltaic system was designed to power lights, computers and other basic amenities for the remote village of Embouchure, allowing the students to study at night, which will be particularly important for the girls, since they help provide food for their families during the day for their families.

Not only do Evergreen build beautiful, comfortable homes, but they care about the planet as well. Randy Burke is co-chair of the 2012 United Way campaign in Kawartha Lakes. The company’s focus on

Hilltop View

energy conservation and green building technology is a core value of Evergreen Home and Cottage.

Exceptional client experience – on budget, on time – is the motto for Evergreen.

Check out the Bethany Village website for more pictures and floor plans of their homes.

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The Rolling Hills of Bethany Ontario

Posted in Day to Day Life, tagged , , , , , , , , , on October 9, 2012| Leave a Comment »

Driving into Bethany

For  a while now, my husband Jeff has been coming home after spending the day in the Village of Bethany, full of stories and observations about the area.  He is a real estate broker and together with his father, they have been developing an estate community in Bethany.

This got me thinking.  I’m big into blogging these days.  I’ve started my own blog to try and promote my novel (Baby! Baby? Baby!? – nothing at all about real estate or Bethany) and I’m quite enjoying it.  So when Jeff and I talked about getting the word out about Bethany, I thought a blog might be the thing.

Bethany, Ontario is a tiny, picturesque village along Highway #7A, nestled among the rolling hills of Manvers Township, now the City of Kawartha Lakes.  Like other small towns and villages, Bethany grew up around the railway system in the mid 1800s.  The Post Office gives as taste of the village’s history.  Built in 1870s, it is the oldest free standing post office in Ontario.  In and around Bethany there are restaurants, B & B’s, artist studios, a ski resort, an equestrian centre, riding camps and a guitar boutique.  It’s also a community that supports local athletics and celebrates holidays and special events together at Bethany Park.

Devil’s Elbow Ski Resort

The View

Autumn is my favourite time of the year to visit because of the spectacular fall colours.  From the end of September to the last big winds of the fall, a gorgeous array of scarlet and orange, golden yellow and vivid red foliage are laid across the hills surrounding Bethany.  We have so many pictures of the area as Jeff tries again and again to capture the beauty of the season on film.  I think he does a pretty good job, but there is nothing comparable to driving along 7A and Ski Hill Road to see the colours of fall.

One of the best places to appreciate the loveliness of the surrounding area is high on the hills of Bethany Village.  This is what takes Jeff out of the bustle of Toronto into the peacefulness of Bethany.  His father first began to develop the area into a community in the 1980s.

Rustlewood Avenue in Bethany Village

The building lots of Bethany Village are incredible – many are forested, set among a mature hardwood forest with all the amenities you would expect in qn upscale estate community.  There are three different builders associated so there are a wide variety of house styles available.  Jeff has been working in Bethany since before we were married and we did have the option of relocating in the village at one time, but because of my career and Jeff’s burgeoning real estate practice, we stayed in the city.  I grew up in several small villages (Roseneath, Garden Hill) and had an idea of what living in Bethany would be like but city born-and-bred Jeff…let’s just say there might have been a little too much culture shock for him at first!  Every time I visit Bethany, I can’t help but think how differently our lives would have turned out if we had chosen small town life.  The quiet and serenity of listening to birds rather than buses, of watching my children run amok among the trees, and of seeing the stars spread out over the night sky makes me miss small town living and the more natural environment I grew up with.

I’m a small town girl at heart and I can’t wait to share my small town stories about Bethany with you.

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