Business Focus 2023

Furnishings in Aylmer.

by Rob Perry of The Aylmer Express

Graham’s mother and father immigrated to Canada from Holland in 1948, and he was born in Tillsonburg in 1958. The family resided in the Port Burwell area, where his father was a dairy farmer and also worked outside the farm.

“He always had two jobs,” Graham recalled. His parents purchased their home farm in Malahide, north of Aylmer, where he and Janet reside now, in 1963. Graham was one of 11 children. “We all worked together as a family to make ends meet.”

Every child worked on the family farm, and off it as well to make bring in needed income for the family.

He remembered being employed in tobacco and strawberry harvests, and similar jobs.

He and Janet bought the family farm in 1988 along with Graham’s brother Wilf. When Wilf later took over Elgin Feeds, Graham and Janet then took over the dairy farm completely.

Graham graduated from a two-year college farm business management program in 1978, but then went into construction as a licensed carpenter for the next 10 years, because he was unable to find work in farming.

“It was slow times,” he recalled.

Some years after he returned to his parents’ farm to take it over, he started having trouble with his knees, and considered options for getting into another business.

Janet said she grew up on a dairy and pig barn in Camlachie, near Sarnia.

“I had to help in the hay and the straw. I actually said

I’d never marry a farmer,” she noted with a laugh, but Graham was a carpenter when she met him.

She had been hired in Grade 12 to be the secretary for the Big Brothers of Sarnia and liked the work.

Furniture store

She and Graham met while they were both camping in Lakewood Christian Campground for young people in Camlachie.

She and Graham married in 1981, and “We lived in town at that time.”

Janet was hired by Malahide Township. “They called me when we were on our honeymoon,” she chuckled, but township property tax was coming up and they wanted her to start as soon as possible.

I went all over the place, but I want to buy from you.

She worked there until 1985, when they had their second child and she quit her office to become a full-time homemaker to what would eventually be six children.

She and Graham, she noted, cleaned the township office for several years after she quit, to bring in extra income.

Janet recalled they started talking 20 years ago about branching off into another business, to relieve Graham’s aching knees.

“We were going to the cemetery for a neighbour’s funeral, and the Roszell’s truck was at the side of the road paying respects, and Graham said, ‘I wonder if that business is for sale.’”

They went into Roszell’s following the funeral and Larry Roszell, longtime owner of the business with his wife Marlyn, said it had just been listed for sale the previous day as they looked toward retirement.

Graham said he believed that was on a Monday or Tuesday, and then they consulted with their accountant, who by Thursday pronounced the business a good one.

That was in February of 2003, and by May they had taken over the store.

“We thought, how hard could furniture be?” Graham recalled ruefully.

Then Larry told them, “It’s going to consume both of you people’s time.”

Graham chuckled the endeavour turned out to be daunting. “By the end of May, I was looking for my cows.

Chasing a vision

“Janet loved it, and I hated it.

“We got thrown in. You had to learn. It was a steep, steep learning curve.”

Fortunately, he said, they hired longtime employee Adrian Neil right away, who really helped them come to understand the retail world.

From 1988 to 2003, they transformed into full-time farmers, and continue to farm with some of their children, though they’re no longer in dairy.

“We couldn’t have done it without him,” Janet acknowledged.

and he had to start accumulating knowledge from scratch.

Biggest challenge

Graham said his biggest challenge was learning all the information customers wanted to know for every product they offered for sale, and every variation on that product.

“To sell a product, you have to know it thoroughly,” he said,

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He estimated two years went by before he knew enough to be comfortable with customers. Different appliances had different features, and furniture came in a dizzying array of variations, like colours, “seating confirmation” (how people fit into furniture), different types of foams used in pillows and fabrics of all kinds and colours. They also sell central vacuum systems, mattresses, box springs, and entire bedroom suites where he had to know all the types of wood used, as well as the colour and stains that could be applied to them.

But he also had to learn how to connect with other people, and to communicate effectively with them, he said.

He recalled that while in college, he’d had to take a communications course. “That was a class I didn’t want anything to do with.”

“It was overwhelming,” he admitted. His one advantage was that when farmers came in to look at furniture or appliances, “I was in my comfort zone. People would come and ask me advice about agriculture.”

“I just loved it” By contrast, Janet said, “I just loved it. Meeting the people, all the office work that came with it.

“It was constantly on my mind. It becomes a part of you.”

Graham said Janet was fantastic from the start, picking up the business’s office work “Just like that.”

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The staff at Roszell’s Furnishings in Aylmer include, from left, Abram Schmitt, owners Janet and Graham Saarloos, Kelsey Miller, Abe Miller and Brian Froese. Absent are Mady Bakker and Lina Bakker. The store offers furniture, appliances, mattresses, built-in home vaccuum systems and window blinds. (AE/Rob Perry)

using their own. “They had a good name” in the business, Graham explained.

Janet said she recalled when the Roszell’s had changed the furniture store name to their own from Welter’s when Larry and Marlyn purchased it.

The store, since they took over, has faced challenges over the years.

Graham recalled how in 2005, “big box stores” went into selling appliances in a big way, going after business longheld by small, independent stores like theirs.

However, those independent stores had already banded together in a buying group, so they could match the prices offered by the big stores, and more.

“They were always about price, and we were always about looking after the service part.”

It was looking after customers after they made their purchases that kept customers loyal, they said.

Change did come

However, change did come as a result. Manufacturers started lowering their prices but offered lower-quality products to do so.

“That was the new way of doing business,” Graham said, but they stuck with North American manufacturers.

“We were a Maytag store,” with that brand accounting for 75 percent of their appliance sales, because of better quality and after-purchase service.

They never took on a product line, they said, without knowing repairs and other service could be handled by local technicians.

Another change that came in 2005 was Abe Miller joining the business. He later married Graham and Janet’s daughter Kelsey, who also works at the store.

Janet said the store widened its offerings, taking on different new products, but because it was “kind of landlocked,” had no space to expand on its Sydenham Street West property, just west of John Street. However, they had offsite

storage where they could put inventory that wouldn’t fit, allowing them to fill most orders quickly. “That’s been our biggest advantage.”

by hand and price lists were circulated by fax machines. Now everything was computerized except for inventory, which Graham still writes in by hand.

Graham said the economic recession in 2008 didn’t hurt the business much, but then in 2013, Sydenham Street just east of them was closed for construction of what’s now a neighbourhood condominium building.

Roszell’s experienced “some rough months,” but then customers found other routes to reach the store, and “They came.”

When the road was officially reopened, he added, “Business has never stopped.”

Janet said the mix of mattresses, furniture and appliances provided them with a well-balanced business.

Graham noted, ‘We’re always surprised by the amount of furniture we sell.”

Janet said their buying group kept Roszell’s up to date with the latest in technology and trends.

Not going away

“Amazon has nothing on us,” Graham boasted, with about 4,500 stores in Canada participating in the group.

Graham said the system, invented by Welter’s, selfchecked stores sales and ordering about three different ways, and always worked. “It’s an awesome system.”

Most recently, when COVID struck, “We didn’t know what to think,” he admitted. Janet said Roszell’s was considered an essential service, and they did everything they could to make customers comfortable with shopping during a pandemic, seeing them by appointment or at the curbside, though they could no longer just come in as freely as they had in the past.

Graham said the store went to lengths to make everyone feel welcome despite the changed services.

And, he continued, they kept ordering inventory, “and we filled our warehouse basically.”

When product shortages started to hit, “We could fill that need. It worked well with us,” and pulled the store through what could otherwise have been a very tough time to stay afloat.

“Mom and pop shops are not going away,” he continued. They might be small, but they had thorough knowledge of everything they sold and could help guide a customer to make the best possible purchase.

When they had started, Janet said, all invoices were written

Janett agreed. “The back orders were crazy for any products, a year or more,” but Roszell’s went to extra lengths when they had to fill an order for a product they didn’t have on hand.

More management

“It took a lot more management,” Graham said, reassuring customers who kept asking

when they could expect delivery. “It cost us extra deliveries to keep that customer,” because a new suite of kitchen appliances would come in one piece at a time. Despite that, Roszell’s only charged for a one-time delivery, as they had in the past, even if they had to keep going back three or four times. Janet said they also opened their phone line to texting, so customers could contact them 24 hours a day. “That was a really handy tool,” and it still remains in place.

Graham said they not only served local customers but started getting new shoppers from London and the surrounding area. “It really broadened us out quite a bit,” and many had stuck with Roszell’s even after pandemic restrictions eased.

In the odd case, he said, they even loaned out some essential appliances, such as refrigerators, when a customer’s existing one had broken down and couldn’t be repaired.

Graham said a policy they followed was to tell customers who had a really good appliance that had broken down to pursue a repair before a replacement, if parts were still available.

Janet said they’d recommend any of three repair technicians based in St. Thomas for such work, and the brands they sold were ones those technicians were qualified to work on.

The future

For the future, Janet remains full-time in the store, but Graham has gone back to farming a little more, raising beef cattle and sheep was well as 200 acres of fields at the home farm. He also does custom work for other farmers.

The store was the main source of income for the family, he noted, but the farm paid for itself.

He spent long hours on the farm where, with the end of dairy farming he found his knees were holding up better, and Janet the same at Roszell’s. Janet said she still loved the

store and had no plans at this time to pass it on. “You meet so many great people.”

Graham said their success was largely due to their staff. “Without them, we couldn’t do it.”

In addition to Graham and Janet, the store employs Abe Miller as sales manager, their daughters Kelsey and Kassidy Heyink in web management and bookkeeping, Lina BakkerMiller, and delivery men Abram Schmidt and Brian Froese. They were grateful, they added, for all the support shown to the store by the local community.

They were often told by customers, “I went all over the place, but I want to buy from you.”

Graham said when the sale was completed, customers were smiling and happy they shopped locally.

The store is open

Kelsey Miller shows some of the customfitted Hunter Douglas blinds that could be purchased through Roszell’s Furnishings, which is on Sydenham Street West, just west of John Street, in Aylmer. (AE/Rob Perry)

“My

“We

it (and) I said it’s probably costing you

We just helped them get started. If they succeed, we succeed, right? It was unusual but people loved it.

$1.5-to-$1.8-million a year, sitting here empty. Why don’t you just give it to us for free and we’ll break it into small sections, and create jobs for the community?

“That’s what I said to him, and he said, ‘sorry buddy, get out of here’,” added Mr. Baribeau, with a chuckle. “A month later, he called me back and said I’m not interested in giving it to you, but we’re intrigued with your visions, we’d like to meet again.

“So we set up another meeting and he said we can’t give

it to you free, but we’re going to throw in another building across the street, some property to the north, and we’re going to lower the price because we love your vision,” he said. The list price had been about $2.8-million.

Mr. Baribeau’s wife Gisele supported the concept and the couple proceeded to buy the former cigarette manufacturing facility from the wholly owned subsidiary of British American Tobacco. “She agreed, said let’s go for it, and I contacted a couple buddies and we put a team together and we bought it.

“Honestly, driving by (the for-sale sign) a bunch of times for hockey and getting this vision,” he said, “the blueprint wasn’t too great, but it was a good plan. I’m a Christian guy and … it wasn’t to get rich, it was to help the community and it worked out. I was raised in a family with nine siblings and amazing parents, and they would have instilled it (that community spirit) in me.”

Coming from a large family and playing junior hockey in Saskatchewan may also have fueled the hockey brain that generated his Imperial Tobacco vision. “The most was 28 hockey games in one weekend,” said Mr. Baribeau, “and I was known to bring the wrong kids to the right game on time.”

After purchasing the property in 2010, it was rebranded as the Elgin Innovation Centre and transformed into an industrial mall, currently with 35 business tenants, employing about 700 people. Mr. Baribeau is the chief executive officer and his boys – who’ve provided him with eight grandchildren – are now involved either with the Innovation Centre, or with Baribeau Construction. In his semi-retired capacity, Mr. Baribeau has taken up golfing,

leaving most of the heavy lifting to the boys.

The Innovation Centre soon became well known for its unorthodox approach. Its management team embraced small businesses and startup companies, offering no-cost to low-cost leases and sharing business acumen to help entrepreneurs find their feet and compete in the open market.

“We just helped them get started,” said Mr. Baribeau.

“If they succeed, we succeed, right? It was unusual but people loved it.

“A lot of business people are overwhelmed with the bureaucracies, so we’d go to meetings with them, with government

then say ‘okay, these are the things you’re going to have to do, these are all reasonable and doable, we can help you get those done so you get your permits, you can get your licenses, or whatever was needed’.” He viewed entrepreneurs as artists who needed someone to frame their art.

“We did our best to diversify, so that we weren’t relying on one super big tenant, that could change or move and it all of a sudden hits us,” added Mr. Baribeau. “With that strength of diversity, it’s a nice building, it’s in good shape, it was able to help a lot of companies grow ...

“A lot of it was networking and just meeting people, mostly people found us,” he added.

At the market, I meet hundreds of people, and it’s connections, right, and if you have an idea, I can sort of connect people with someone, and potentially things can come together.

agencies – I have worked with a lot of projects, so we weren’t intimidated by it – and we would help them ask the right questions, take the notes, meet with them after the meetings,

“We had set up an incubator, where we had companies have space at a low cost. For startups it’s always a challenge. We might give them three months or six months free rent or reduced rent for a year and then escalate over time. After a fiveyear term, we’ve got our initial value.”

The Innovation Centre’s forgiving start-up proposition built considerable trust and loyalty in its clients.

“They don’t want to go anywhere else,” he said. “When you look at the cash to actually

build your own building, it’s really hard on the people, especially startups, so if they do a rental, they’re saving hundreds of thousands or more of capital expense that they can put into the business.”

The Innovation Centre’s management also fosters a supportive environment.

Mr. Baribeau likes to tell the story of two clients, entrepreneurs competing with each other, side by side in the Innovation Centre. A 300-foot wall, 32 feet high, was needed to separate them, but the resources weren’t immediately available. When one of the clients landed a big project and needed help, the other stepped up. “It helped both customers grow and eventually we put up the wall,” said Mr. Baribeau. In another example, one client’s forklift broke down just as a large shipment arrived. His Innovation Centre neighbour, also a competitor, brought his forklift to get the work done. Over time, the two companies merged.

“That is the environment in the whole building,” added Mr. Baribeau. “It is very supportive. We may be competing, but we’re friendly competitors. We have different customers than you do, let’s keep plugging and learn and help.” Mr. Baribeau said many of his clients – including Planet

The Elgin Innovation Centre Management team (left to right) Eric Bartlett, Jacob Baribeau, Jack Baribeau, Ben Peters and Steven Cuthbert. (AE/ contributed)

The former Imperial Tobacco Plant: one million square feet of space on a 55acre site, closed in 2007, leaving 600 people without jobs. (AE/ contributed)

Shrimp, Sante Manufacturing, PAKFAB, maxill, Motif, CQM

Custom Quality Manufacturing

– were also drawn to the Innovation Centre because its location is ideal for shipping and receiving. It’s closer to the U.S. than Toronto is, with a selection of border crossing points. Also, clients appreciate the local labor force. “It’s the culture in this area. It is entrepreneurial, hardworking, honest people.”

Last year, Mr. Baribeau launched the Old Imperial Farmers Market (OIFM), at 519 John Street, in one of the last remaining vacant spaces at the Innovation Centre, with some 19,000 square feet of market space. The market is open every Saturday, from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m.

The renovated tobacco warehouse can accommodate up to 80 vendors and from 1,600 to 3,000 people come to enjoy the market every Saturday.

“We’re getting people from London, St. Thomas, Tillsonburg, Kitchener, Cambridge,” said Mr. Baribeau. “Some people come from Cambridge weekly. With the Amish community, Mr. Amish is one of the vendors. He started with 35 products, now he’s got over 200 in the market. He started on his farm and when he got here he kept growing and growing and now he’s got another spot in Thamesford. He’s a real creative guy.”

Mr. Baribeau grew up in Saskatchewan. He completed Grade 12 at age 16 years and ignored pressures to attend university, instead getting an early start in the construction industry. When he was 18 years old, he established his own construction company in Saskatchewan and has been self-employed since.

He enjoys encouraging young people and has initiated a number of programs at the Innovation Centre to interest youth in sharing his passion for community and entrepreneurship. One such venture is Bunkie Life, a Rockwood, Ontario, company that sells kits to build 99-to-160-square-foot bunkies. They’re designed for cottage use, backyards, home offices,

studios or anywhere extra space is needed. No building permit is required for bunkies in many parts of North America.

“I saw Bunkie Life on Dragon’s Den and I reached out to them and they said yes, we’ll put up a bunkie at the OIFM,” said Mr. Baribeau. He invited East Eglin Secondary School students, as well as EESS’ Aspire group to do the work.

pany, Mr. Beribeau has formed Bunkie Life-Elgin, a registered not-for-profit company to manage the two units on display in the market.

Similarly, Mr. Baribeau is working with a couple of EESS teachers he met in a OIFM lineup for coffee. Their conversation piqued his interest in one of his son’s pastimes, participating in the FIRST (For

12, we’ve got welding, wood working, food production, all in the building.” Mr. Baribeau is willing to host an educational facility for Thames Valley District School Board. “At the school, they don’t have enough space.”

“I’m basically communicating with a couple of teachers that are driving it, and that’s their responsibility, to talk to their principal,” said Mr. Baribeau. “The school board did come and do a health and safety inspection and their (TVDSB’s) budget is in November and right now they don’t have the money to pay rent, but I said that’s okay.

“At the market, I meet hundreds of people, and it’s connections, right, and if you have an idea, I can sort of connect people with someone, and potentially things can come together,” he said. “The teachers, I met in the coffee line, chatting, and one thing leads to another.

“Getting the students in on the first one, the teachers said, ‘you know, those kids would be on their laptops, eating a bag of chips, but once we got them onto the tools, they wouldn’t stop working’,” he added.

“They said we’ll bring you seven students for the next one.

Twenty-two students showed up (to build a second bunkie for display at the Innovation Centre).

“(After) putting the bunkies in the market for the students, I’ve been asked by three other communities, can we set up the bunkies for homeless people,” said Mr. Baribeau. “The opportunities are endless.”

He’s particularly impressed and inspired by the possibilities demonstrated by A Better Tent City, in Kitchener. That community of bunkie-like structures provides homes for about 50 residents experiencing chronic homelessness in Waterloo Region.

“It’s pretty amazing,” said Mr. Baribeau. “We’ve been asked by other communities, ‘okay can we do a small bunkie build by the homeless, have maybe 30 or 40 of them, and a support network’.” While Bunkie Life is the parent com-

Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology) robotics community. FIRST robotics prepares youth for their future with team-based robotics programs for ages four-to-18 years, facilitated in schools.

“We’re working with the high school, to set up (a FIRST robotics program at the Innovation Centre),” said Mr. Baribeau. “It’s still a process, but we would love to have FIRST robotics in the building here. A lot of students from Aylmer go to St. Thomas now because there’s nothing here.

“With 35 (Innovation Centre) customers here, it would be an ideal spot,” he added. “So we’re working with them, taking small steps to get 3,000 square feet set up for them, to have the students here, connecting with all these different companies. Already we’ve set up co-ops with some of the companies and some of the students.”

It is part of a broader strategy to interest youth in careers in the trades. “Now with (Premier) Doug Ford changing the rules a couple months ago where every student has to have at least one semester in the trades to get their Grade

“It’s sort of back to that faith foundation,” Mr. Baribeau continued. “There’s a guy named scripture, it’s impossible to please him but by faith. I believe the Lord wants me to trust him and I don’t know the future. Everything isn’t perfectly laid out, I’m out on a branch taking risks, in his hands, doing the best I can every day, trying to be a blessing to people, and starting to golf.”

The cavernous spaces inside the Elgin Innovation Centre house 35 business tenants, employing about 700 people. (AE/ contributed)

A big opening year for the Old Imperial Farmers’ Market

A long-held vision to create a new farmers’ market for Aylmer has come true at the Elgin Innovation Centre. by

ceeds

a food concession booth before. Terry did some consulting, and they became friends, and then started talking about doing a farm market at the EIC.

the idea with a staff change and the ongoing closure (since ended) of the Tuesday market at Aylmer Sales Arena. They started fresh conversations with the town in the spring of 2021, by which time Amy had joined the effort. Terry said the town’s new administrator was all for a market. “I welcomed him to the town and told him I had an idea about a market, and our current market was closed.”

in

but, in 2020, “COVID brought me home to the farm.”

Three years later, she was married and still here, where she helps on her family’s farm.

Terry said the market was realized through meeting Elgin Innovation Centre founder Jack Baribeau, whose company was building a new arena in Dorchester but had never done

“The town was totally against it,” at the time, he recalled.

Amy said the plan got kiboshed a few times, but the town became more open to

He thought a great idea, and told Terry what he needed to look at, like getting the approval of Southwestern Public Health, before opening, and Terry told him about his experience in the food and beverage industry.

Aylmer, Terry continued, has always had a reputation as a market town. “It’s what people still talk about.”

He could remember even as a child in London coming to the Tuesday market in Aylmer “all the time.”

“People think we’re that market,” he said, though he always pointed out that wasn’t the case, and that the Sales Arena was back in the market business on Tuesdays again. He wanted to provide everyone with “a safe place” to get together and have a coffee as pandemic restrictions began to be eased.

“People had to get out of the house” after being isolated for so long. Amy said the Elgin Innovation Centre also came with its own local heritage, as the former site of the Imperial Tobacco Canada plant in town. Many people had worked there over the years, she said, or had a relative who did. Terry said he heard a lot of stories from visitors, like a former employee who knew a fellow worker who used to nap on the top of stored tobacco bales in the converted warehouse that’s now home to the market.

Amy said the space had to be cleaned thoroughly, and even power-washed, to remove old tobacco leaves stuck in nooks and crannies.

Pointing toward the rafters, she added, “The fingerprints of the people who had put the boards in place are still up there.”

and tenants could rent as many as they wanted that were adjacent to each other.

Terry said with the current state of the economy, small businesses had less disposable income and “can’t get workers,” so they weren’t ready to expand yet.

Despite the post-COVID challenges, he said, “The market is doing pretty good.”

Amy said the market opened for the first time leading up to Christmas of 2021, “in the middle of the firestorm that was Aylmer.

“I cried one week,” because all the publicity about the town was negative. They resolved to “remain

kind and let people hurl insult,” and opened a market “that people flocked to,” she said. Terry noted he had an uncle who died of COVID, but for some reason social media posts claimed he was a member of a particular church in town.

“I got blasted a lot,” but then people who knew him came

He focused on what

and tried to be kind to

eryone. Amy said the market had core values it maintained. “We’re

Terry said the original plan for the market had included a second-story mezzanine overlooking the floor below, where market-goers could relax and have a coffee.

However, he used to have a booth at the Western Fair Farmers’ Market, and the Covent Garden Market had a mezzanine as well. “People don’t go up there.”

Leaving the ceilings open also made the market feel even more spacious and, he admitted, the mezzanine “would have been a million-dollar cost.”

He realized that, if the market had to expand, it could do so through the rear of the former warehouse, rather than up.

Amy said the original design was for 20 by 10-foot booths that would be rented to vendors, but then they realized many potential tenants wanted smaller spaces, so 10 by 10 booths were marketed instead,

with a stroller and a couple of children, and still have privacy. They never ran short with the six bathrooms they had, Amy added, and “It’s more comfortable for the patron.”

“This summer was slow,” Terry allowed. They expected January and February to be that way, and theirs was the only indoor Saturday farm market in the area.

However, this was also the first year local residents could travel to the United States regardless of vaccination status, and he thinks many took the opportunity to head south for vacations.

Terry said Jack had designed the market interior to work around the pillars inside while still allowing a ready flow of customer movement.

A heritage tree that died in the front yard of the Elgin Innovation Centre was cut down early in the market’s existence, but instead of disposing of the wood, it was carved into a huge sculpture reflecting the heritage of the area. “We didn’t want it

to go to waste.”

Amy said the carvings represented the history of the area, its natural features, animals such as squirrels and bees, a cornucopia representing bountiful harvests, and at the bottom images of farms, the local Amish community and a sawmill that used to be in the area.

The carvings also included references to how Elgin County used to be known as “Little Ireland,” and Aylmer’s original name, “Troy.” A tomato and a Carnation also saluted the canning plants once based in town.

“It was an expensive project,” Terry said, but the artist did a great job over four months of carving.

While they had lots of vendors now, Amy said, they had thought more farms in general, and especially local ones, would be represented there, but most didn’t have the resources to both farm and sell at the

market. Finding new producers was tough, but they had brought in a couple and were glad to have them.

They’d originally opened with just seven vendors, but now had 40.

feet available in the market, and believed that increased to about 96 percent on the busiest market days. Amy said they were seeing a lot of entrepreneurs starting up new businesses, or people who want to money in addition to their regular job, who didn’t necessarily want to be permanent vendors at the market. They had a core group of permanent tenants, and then others who came regularly but only once or twice a month, and then the temporary tenants.

age of farm vendors to others.

He’d spoken to Elgin-Middlesex-London MPP Rob Flack about the issue. “The farming industry has changed over the years.”

A local brewery or vineyard could sell its products at a designated market, but not at the Old Imperial.

“It’s not the same playing field,” Terry complained.

Amy said they understood a market like theirs could turn into a purely commercial enterprises and rules were needed, but also some exceptions needed to be made.

Terry said they had achieved the variety of vendors he’d hoped to have. He’d wished at first, they had more food to offer, “but that is actually now coming.”

They were at about 90 percent capacity for the 110 10-by10 spaces in the 19,600 square

Fruit vendors started appearing each summer and tended to be situated in outside booths, while Terry said they had an inside vegetable vendor who bought from local producers in season, and then from outside ones in the off season, providing a good balance to his offerings.

Terry said they weren’t an officially-designated farmers market because of the percent-

The market is open every Saturday, except Christmas Day if it falls on a Saturday. Their first year, they were open both Christmas Eve and New Year’s Eve.

Terry said they also did special market events, like a recent “Pepperfest” that was on both Friday night and Saturday during the day.

Amy noted they had a St. Patrick’s Day celebration too and put a lot of effort into making Canada Day a fun day.

She hoped they could also offer night markets at Christmas, “so people can come out and see the lights.”

Plans for the future? “We have a pile.”

Terry said he’d like to double the size of the market, after filling the space available now.

Amy said she wanted more outdoor food trucks, and expanding to 12 outdoor vendor stalls, and making those useable in winter.

She’d also like more community participation, such as service clubs conducting fundraisers.

Terry said, “Our slogan is, ‘Your community, your market’.”

Christmas markets, he continued, could attract up to 4,000 visitors on a Saturday. He was doing as much business from his small booth at the market as he was at his store in St. Thomas.

Amy said they tracked the number of visitors coming into the market. In spring, a typical Saturday might see 1,700 to

2,500 shoppers, and in summer that could drop to 900 to 1,000, with the exception of Canada Day, which brought in 3,000 visitors. Terry expected that number to grow as people became more familiar with the Saturday market.

Every Tuesday, shoppers would be pulling on the locked doors, confusing the Elgin Innovation Centre with the Aylmer Sales Arena, and he was told by owners of the latter, the same happened there on Saturdays. He believed the market would become fully established in two to five years.

Amy said she was still quite shocked by how successful they’d been to date.

Weatherwall turns porches, decks, into three-season rooms with a snap

After years owning Aylmer Glass and Mirror, Tony and Deb Holcombe, having sold that business, are now running Weatherwall Canada in partnership with their son Matt.

by Rob Perry of The Aylmer Express

Tony is president of the company based in the Elgin Innovation Centre in Aylmer, Matt is vice-president and Deb is the secretary-treasurer.

Weatherwall

“We

which was accepted.

“He’s grown it significantly,” Tony added. Weatherwall, he continued, was a three-season patio panel system with transparent screens.

Matt said that the panels could be anywhere from 24 to 54 inches wide and 36 to 96 inches tall.

Every order was custommanufactured to fit the job, with “elasto vinyl” replacing glass for light weight.

“This stuff is incredibly durable,” Tony added, with Matt noting, “It can take a pounding.”

Panels could be opened in hot weather or closed in cold weather as needed to keep the climate inside comfortable.

Matt added that, with a small heater, some customers used them year-round.

“I love how versatile it is.

You can put it anywhere,” he continued, and with customization, “Get what you want out of

the room.”

The system was easy to install. Anyone with an impact drill and a caulking gun could do the needed work, though customers also sometimes used local installers.

Matt stated, “It’s pretty equal to the cost of window system,” but a regular room needed in-

200 dealers across Canada, most with product displays, he said, as well as a display in the company’s office in Aylmer, or at Aylmer Glass and Mirror.

Weatherwall Canada usually sold through dealers but where one wasn’t available, would do a direct sale as well.

The dealers include a lot of Home Hardware stores, construction businesses and “mom and pop” renovation stores and businesses, Matt said.

Deb added others were glass and mirror shops and Timber Marts.

Orders took about six weeks to manufacture and deliver usually.

After shipping from Florida, the panels were sorted at the Aylmer warehouse and trucks called in to deliver to individual dealers.

The heaviest panels weighed about 35 pounds each, and door units about 80 pounds.

Installation could be handled by do-it-yourselfers, Deb said, but at least two were usually needed.

sulation to make it useable. The installation of vinyl window frames also required a building permit, while Weatherwalls didn’t if just surrounding an existing deck.

Tony noted glass window systems only allowed up to a maximum of 50 percent being open for ventilation, while Weather Wall could get up to 75 percent. “And there’s no bugs” because of the screens.

Weatherwall Canada was based at Aylmer Glass and Mirror for its first two years of Holcombe ownership, and after that moved to the Elgin Innovation Centre. They’d always rented storage space at the Centre for Weatherwall products.

Weatherwall Canada had

Professional installers could complete most jobs in a day, she estimated, and a husbandand-wife team two or three days, depending on the size of the room.

The size of a potential room was unlimited, but average installations handled by the company ranged from a small porch to an entire boathouse.

Matt said Weatherwall Canada supplied the panels for a 1,200 square-foot boathouse for a Manitoba landscaper.

The easiest installations were with a pre-existing roof, but that could also be provided if needed. In that case, the work became more complicated, and customers were better off to use professional installers.

The biggest installation they’ve done was a 1,400 foot

three-season room that included an outdoor kitchen.

Tony noted one of the walls in that installation was 22 feet long.

Weatherwall, he continued, could be used for commercial purposes too, such as allowing restaurant diners to eat outdoors without having to deal with bugs.

In addition to the Holcombes, Weatherwall Canada has three full-time employees based in Aylmer.

“We’ve got a small crew, but they’re mighty,” Deb observed.

As for the future, “Growth is always the plan,” Matt said. However, he didn’t want to expand so quickly the company had trouble keeping up, to ensure customers remained satisfied.

Tony stated that the Skinners “have been fantastic mentors” for the Holcombes in their new enterprise.

Tony, left, Matt and Deb Holcombe own and operate Weatherwall Canada from an office in the Elgin Innovation Centre in Aylmer, where the company also leases warehouse space for its products. They’ve owned it for the last four years. (AE/Rob Perry)

Motif Labs offering

on John Street North, in Aylmer, has emerged as an industry leader in cannabinoid and terpene extraction.

The firm uses carbon dioxide (CO2) and solventless extraction technology to transform raw cannabis and hemp materials into purified, bulk tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), cannabidiol (CBD) and terpene extracts. They can also produce other minor cannabinoids like cannabigerol (CBG).

THC is the main psychoactive compound in marijuana, while CBD is also among the 113 identified cannabinoid compounds found in cannabis plants. CBD is said to provide many health benefits. Terpenes are plant compounds with unique aromas, flavours, and colours.

Together, the oils are used to formulate products including vaporizers (vapes), blended oils, topicals and edibles – Cannabis 2.0 products – all sold through the Ontario Cannabis Store (OCS), a Crown agency and Ontario’s sole wholesaler

for more than 1,500 authorized stores. Best known for BoxHot vapes such as Couch Lock Kush, Motif Labs was cofounded in 2017 by Mario Naric and Ian Haase, both of London. “We found that Aylmer and St. Thomas have been very welcoming for the most part and a lot more open to having a cannabis facility here,” said Madeline Ng, who joined Motif as Human Resources Director in 2021. She was employee No. 45. Motif now has 250 employees. “That’s what motivated them to get a significant amount of space (some 35,000

square feet in the former Imperial Tobacco Canada plant) to start the facility.”

Mr. Naric was 25 years old when the company was launched. He joined a throng of entrepreneurs focused at the

believe that the vast majority of the population understands the relatively low risk level of this product category,” said Mr. Naric. “However, what I can say is that Health Canada has laid out a very clear and strict set of guidelines that protect against contaminants – microbes, pesticides, heavy metals – as well as the introduction of known harmful compounds. We spend a tremendous amount of time and money conducting testing to ensure our products are 100 percent compliant with these regulations.”

time on a changing Canadian culture and the federal government’s adoption of the Cannabis Act on October 17, 2018. The act provides legal access to cannabis and controls and regulates its production, distribution, and sale. OCS sells cannabis products to adults at least 19 years old.

“I don’t often get challenged about health concerns when it comes to cannabis as I do

Now Motif’s chief executive officer (CEO), Mr. Naric came to the business from a background in chemical engineering at Imperial Oil-Exxon. Currently serving as a Motif board member, Mr. Haase was a director at Western University’s Propel entrepreneurship centre. Propel provides co-working space, seed funding, mentorship, and accelerator programs for businesspeople.

“In 2016 I became aware of the new cannabis legislation and started doing some deep research and travel to the few legal states at the time, Washington, Oregon,” said Mr. Naric. “It quickly became apparent that extraction was going to be at the heart of all cannabis products in the future

as the market down south was already rapidly moving away from flower and to 2.0 products. My technical background put me in a great position to start uncovering the cannabis extraction process that would eventually fit that business model.”

The company carefully evolved from being a supplier of cannabis oil, to include comanufacturing white-label products, and eventually to developing its own internal brands. Motif ships 500,000 products a month. It generates over 900 kilograms of distillate output per month. Motif says they enjoy a 25-percent marketshare of Canadian vapes by revenue.

“I am fortunate to have an extremely talented team and a very supportive and knowledgeable investor group,” said Mr. Naric. “I truly believe that it’s the people we have that are the key to our rapid growth. There is such a high degree of commitment and alignment

across the entire organization, and we move very quickly to respond to market dynamics.”

Motif – a private company held by a board of investors – now has four top-selling internal brands, including BoxHot, Floresense, Debunk, and Boondocks. A fifth brand is in the works.

“The very first one was (called) Floresense,” Ms. Ng explained. “It’s supposed to be more of a wellness vibe to that vape. It appeals to people who don’t necessarily want a high THC content, maybe they’re just after the CBD oil itself.

“We started with that brand

Motif Labs was co-founded in 2017 by Mario Naric (left) and Ian Haase, both of London. (AE/contributed by Motif)

for Elgin cannabis trade

crazy,”

revenue streams: (businessto-business) B2B sales with other license holders, private labeling of external brands, and

Motif decided early against establishing a grow operation. Instead, the company buys marijuana flour and extracts the oil.

“In terms of our business model,” added Mr. Naric, “I do believe our decision to focus in on the extraction vertical was the right move at the right time.

“We deployed a business model that had three distinct

It quickly became apparent that extraction was going to be at the heart of all cannabis products in the future.

revenue base that allowed us to absorb various market impacts over the years. Ultimately today, it’s our internally developed brands that are driving the majority of our revenue growth as we have found our voice in innovating exciting products that consumers love.”

tor the performance of Motif. “We don’t know how many people … are actually using it for medical reasons,” she said. “We don’t have that data. I suspect there’s a fair portion of them.”

She said Motif’s target market is comprised of 30-to50 year olds.

commercialization of internal brands,” he said. “Those three streams work well together to form a strong and diverse

Ms. Ng added, “All the branding around BoxHot really resonated with consumers of cannabis who are enthusiasts. Most of the sales from the provincial stores are in the recreational market (and) we are primarily in the recreational market.” She said there’s little statistical analysis available to moni-

“With our products and our brands, we always try to have your classic business model,” she explained. “You have a value, economy brand, then you have your middle-class brand, appealing to the everyday consumer, and then you have your high-quality, elite brand, reserved for certain people who are very distinct about what they want.”

A budtender offering all of Motif Labs hottest products. (AE/contributed by Motif)

Motif Labs quality assurance is a top priority. (AE/contributed by Motif)

St. Thomas airport a gateway to the area

St. Thomas Municipal Airport may be too small to land a Boeing 747, but the former Second World War Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF) training base is big enough to nurture economic development and help attract the likes of Volkswagen to Elgin County.

by Joe Konecny Local Journalism Initiative reporter

The Aylmer Express

“I don’t think we can land a 747, but we couldn’t accommodate the people coming off a plane that size either,” St. Thomas Mayor Joe Preston said in a recent interview. “We’re very close to an international airport in London anyways.

“St. Thomas has an airport that can do pretty much what we need it to do,” added Mayor Preston. “Even though it’s a smaller municipality-run airport, it’s great.”

On the checklist for a corporation like Volkswagen-PowerCo, with plans to build an electric vehicle (EV) battery plant in St. Thomas by 2027, “it’s a tick,” added Mayor Preston.

“Yes, we have railways. Yes, we have roads. Yes, we have an airport. If you didn’t have it, it would be something missing from somebody’s checklist.”

The German motor vehicle manufacturer announced March 13, 2023 that it will build Volkswagen’s first overseas gigafactory at a 1,500-acre industrial park in the city’s north-east end. The plant is expected to employ 3,000 workers and create some 30,000 spinoff jobs.

“The Airport has always been a tool for investment attraction and business retention, with numerous companies using it for their corporate travel,” said Sean Dyke, Chief Executive Officer at the St. Thomas Economic Development Corp. “In fact, it was in part because we had an airport that we were able to attract one of our longest lasting industries, Gorman-Rupp Pumps Canada, to the city over six decades ago.

“Today, it is the home of Smart Aviation Solutions, who are doing amazing work on some impressive planes and Zimmer Air Services, one of very few helicopter providers

in the area and a pleasure to work with when we need to show our community from above,” added Mr. Dyke. “It’s also been an important piece of our tourism infrastructure, from the plowing match to the air show and all the smaller events in between.”

While VW executives have yet to actually use St. Thomas Municipal Airport – they have relied on Toronto Pearson International Airport as a gateway to date – Mayor Preston said he expects that may change as the project here matures.

“The private use of the airport will always be impacted by the number of industries you have and we don’t know yet from the build at VolkswagenPowerCo what emergency cargo may need to be done,” added Mayor Preston. “I think we may see this during the upfitting of the factory with some fairly specialized equipment.

“We’ll need to wait and see

what happens there,” he said. “Of course, when you have a facility going at that rate, as busy as they will be, it can’t have down time. I think in the past, whether it’s executives form Magna (International), or

10 kms west of Aylmer, was established in 1941 as a RCAF air training base for the British Commonwealth Air Training Program (BCATP). It was operated by the Department of National Defense (DND) until the late 1940s as a ‘primary relief field’ for No. 14 Service Flying Training School Aylmer and No. 4 Bombing and Gunnery School Fingal. There

Formet (Industries) or Presstran (Industries), or executives – in their day – for Lear Seating, and Timken, from Ohio, that was a pretty easy jump, just to use their private jets.” St. Thomas Municipal Airport, at 44989 Talbot Line,

St. Thomas employs one full-time and eight part-time workers at its municipal airport. Another 91 employees work at private companies that operate at the airport. (AE/Joe Konecny)

Visiting Volkswagen executives planning to build an electric vehicle (EV) battery plant in St. Thomas by 2027 are expected to spark a revival of air traffic at the St. Thomas Municipal Airport. (AE/Joe Konecny)

Airport. “There’s nothing yet describing what will happen on the rest of the

said Mayor Preston. “We’re

forward on (building) the

ing centre. Attached to (the main) building, there will be an office building and a training centre building.

“The council before mine, five to eight years ago, looked at using the airport as an industrial site too and we still think we could do that,” he said. “The problem is that (the land)

Businesses

Smart

The City of St. Thomas maintains the airport through agricultural, commercial and general aviation leases, as well as fuel sales and aviation services. (AE/Joe Konecny)

Pinecroft Pottery said to be longest continually-operated studio

in Canada

Pinecroft Pottery of the Springwater area, founded by Jimmie and Selma (Caverly) in 1948 and later joined by the Green Frog Tea Room, a restaurant and, combined, a huge tourist landmark for the East Elgin area, is celebrating its 75th anniversary this year.

by Rob Perry of The Aylmer Express

It’s now owned by Jimmy and Selma’s niece, Brenda (Caverly) Smith, and her husband Paul, with a third generation, their daughter Sarah and son Chad, having taken over responsibility for most of the business, with Brenda still the primary potter for Pinecroft.

Its origin Pinecroft originally was Brenda’s grandfather Arthur Caverly’s farm. He was a butcher and, because of the lack of refrigeration at the time, had to lay off his employees each summer.

He was constantly losing employees to farm work because of that, and decided on a make-work program to keep workers busy during the summer. He decided to transform 54 acres of the farm into an environment similar to Muskoka,

where he loved to go on fishing and hunting trips.

Workers would eventually plant 85,000 pine trees from a nursery in St. Williams, in trenches filled with slaughterhouse entrails to nourish them, and a cabin that’s now a bedand-breakfast rental, closed during COVID but potentially re-opening soon.

A second cabin on the site is now part of the main tearoom and gift shop for Pinecroft.

The “Cabin-in-the-Pines,” as Pinecroft was known at the time, because a popular spot for club dinners and other celebrations. The second cabin was originally built for the St. Thomas Rotary Club, which used it for many parties.

During the Second Great War, that cabin was used as a recreation centre for airmen from the Commonwealth Air Training base northeast of Aylmer (and now the Ontario Police College).

Jimmie and Selma

Jimmie and Selma, both veterans of that war, founded the pottery on what would come to be known as Pinecroft Pottery.

Jimmie was English, and his father had died in the First Great War. Jimmy was an orphan who started working in coal mine in England at 14, an experience that left him with a lasting concern for the working man.

When his grandmother died, Jimmy, now 15, and his younger brother James came to Medicine Hat, Alberta, to reside with an aunt. Jimmie started working in a pottery, a job he would hold for the next 13 years, during his last three working with a pottery engineer, experimenting with Canadian clays and compiling beautiful matte and gloss glazes to complement them.

When the Second Great War started, Jimmy wanted to join the British army, and set off to

do so. He got as far as Hamilton when he was turned back and told if he wanted to serve, it should be in the Canadian army. He returned to Alberta and, in Galetin, signed up with the 22nd Battery of the Canadian 3rd Division, which was being trained for beachhead landings.

He landed on the beaches of Normandy and his division fought its way across Western Europe.

Selma Caverly had also enlisted during the Second Great War, after a career as a schoolteacher. As a Wren, she worked for Canadian Naval Intelligence for three years at HMCS Bytown. Wrens had a tradition of addressing each other by surname, and hers got shortened to “Cavvy,” which she adored and adopted for the rest of her life. She and Jimmy met in a pottery class being offered to veterans in January of 1946,

Sarah Smith, left, Paul Smith, Brenda Smith and Chad Smith are the owners and operators of Pinecroft Pottery and Green Frog Tearoom, on Rogers Road just east of Springwater. The business, celebrating its 75th anniversary this year, was founded in 1948 by two Second Great War veterans, Jimmy and Selma “Cavvy” Clennell. Brenda is their niece.

(AE/Rob Perry)

Pinecroft Pottery said to be longest

at St. Anne de Bellevue. Their passion for art and history drew them together.

Working together at the college where the pottery program was offered, they developed the clay they would use at Pinecroft, as well as four glazes, Rockingham brown, sage green, buff and yellow.

But Ontario, when they moved here, was an industrial and agricultural province where crafts such as pottery were little-understood, unlike Quebec and the Maritimes, where potteries were great tourist attractions supported by provincial governments.

Opening the pottery

Jimmie and Cavvy accepted Arthur Caverly’s offer of a cabin as a studio and moved in. After one season, they realized it was too small and moved to the larger “Cabin-in-the-Pines.”

They combined pine, for the many trees on the property, with croft, an English word for a small rural property, to arrive at their business’s new name, “Pinecroft.”

They married in 1949 and worked and lived together for the next 46 years, until Cavvy’s death in 1994.

The pottery would take time to establish, and most of their business involved wholesaling to 200 gift shops across

Canada, but more and more visitors came to Pinecroft each year and, by 1975, everything made there was also sold there.

In addition to producing pottery, they also taught many students how to do so over the years and gave talks to interested groups such as service clubs and Women’s Institutes.

Brenda, Jimmie and Selma’s niece, meanwhile, grew up in Toronto, the daughter of David Caverly, a former Deputy Minister of the Environment in the provincial government and Tressa who, after her husband’s retirement in 1971, helped out for many years at Pinecroft, becoming a fixture there for visitors.

Aylmer.

“I literally had no idea what I was getting into,” she admitted in a history she wrote for the 64th anniversary of Pinecroft (Actually for the 60th, but completing the book took much longer than expected.)

We’ve been lucky, we’ve been able to do what we wanted to do. It was a lot of really, really hard work.

Jimmie and Selma had a nephew, Tony, who was very interested in ceramics and remains a potter to this day, but at about that time he was a newlywed with a burgeoning career in teaching, which left Brenda as the choice to take over Pinecroft.

She’d been an English and psychology major at Western University, and had then worked for the City of London, which she didn’t like.

She was also sentimental about Pinecroft, and so she took a year’s sabbatical to return to

Meanwhile, Brenda met her husband Paul while they were both active in saving the Old Town Hall in Aylmer from proposed demolition in the late 1970s.

Green Frog tearoom

In 1978, a decision was made to open a tearoom at Pinecroft, as an adjunct to the pottery, by Tressa.

Visiting groups

was gradually expanded over time, starting with a tomato soup and an egg-salad sandwich.

“Everything’s fresh,” and no more food was made than the expected number of diners on any particular day.

The tearoom became so popular that it now accounts for up to 80 percent of the business’s revenue.

Chad said even if someone was coming just to buy pottery, they were still very likely to take in lunch as well.

Brenda said that, despite the popularity of the tearoom, the pottery has also grown over time. Teaching students started with Pinecroft, and the teaching studio has been expanded with more turning wheels and a lot brighter illumination, much of it natural.

While the number of pottery employees hasn’t grown, the number of kilns used to fire pottery has, including two very large ones, one of them woodfired, which was rare. The ceramics made at Pinecroft were all expected to be practical, not just decorative.

“Stuff people can use.” All the pottery produced there was safe for food use, as well as for dishwashers, freezers, ovens and microwaves, she noted.

Paul noted that didn’t keep some customers from hanging platters on the wall. Pinecroft used to close around the end of October and re-open in March, but due to growing popularity, it now

Gift shop worker Olivia Fehr holds a Pinecroft Pottery platter, one of many such pieces produced and sold there each year. Every product is meant to be used and is food-safe and well as safe for ovens, freezers, microwaves and dishwashers. (AE/Rob Perry)

This is the dining room at Green Frog Tearoom, with an expansive view through one glass wall of some of the 85,000 pine trees planted on the property by Arthur Caverly, starting in 1921. (AE/Rob Perry)

continually-operated studio in Canada

part-time in the Pinecroft pottery for the last seven or eight years, in additional to travelling extensively (he was in Montana at the time of the interview).

fired and the other wood-fired, the only one of its design in Ontario if not Canada.

they served 400 diners over the course of weekend.

Chad said they had found they could double the number of reservations for the following day to estimate how many diners would come through the tearoom.

If 70 were booked by the night before, about 130 to 140 would turn up the next day.

Last year, Brenda said, a total of 36,000 customers were served, despite the tearoom offering only lunch from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m., and no breakfast or dinner.

“That’s almost back to preCOVID numbers,” she stated.

Jimmie’s nephew Tony, now an Aylmer resident, had worked

I literally had no idea what I was getting into.

Surviving COVID

Chad allowed that trying to operate a business like theirs through COVID “was tough.”

At one point, they couldn’t open at all for six months straight.

And when they could open, Paul added, tables had to be at least six feet away from each other, and they were only allowed to operate at 40 percent of their maximum capacity.

One lifesaver, Chad said, was that when they could open but only for outdoor dining, they could readily double the size of their patio, and probably did better than most restaurants.

The popular patio remains in an enlarged state, but Chad said he got rid of three or four tables.

“It was too much when you have the inside full and the outside full.” They’ve now returned to a number they can handle.

Brenda said one bonus about the patio was that many customers who’d never tried dining outdoors got a taste for it, “And now want to do nothing else.”

Surprising, Sarah observed, insects turned out to not be a problem, except for one week this spring when the deerflies were bad.

Brenda said a fellow came from Minnesota in 2013 who built two big kilns, one gas-

A concerned neighbour came over one day, seeing flames belching out the top of the wood-fired kiln chimney, but Brenda assured him that was normal.

Classes always full

Pinecroft hosted workshops for potters’ guilds from Ottawa, Toronto, Hamilton and Windsor, giving a course in firing a wood kiln, and had guest potters from the USA doing specialty workshops.

She taught one-day classes two days a week, “and it’s always full.”

Chad said Pinecroft currently had 600 prospective students on a waiting list. “We’re whittling them down.”

Brenda said she’d had a whole class of students one recent Saturday who had been waiting since before COVID for the opportunity. Classes were limited to eight students at a time.

Chad, who’s in charge of bookkeeping, said when Pinecroft re-opened, “We were busy again, right from the get-go.”

Paul blamed “cabin fever,” adding, “It’s been a great year.”

The future

What’s in the future for the family business?

“Just keep doing what we do,” Chad answered.

Sarah repeated that finding staffing was tough, and that limited the potential for growth.

Brenda noted they used to host weddings and specialty dinners, but Sarah added, “We can only do what we can do.”

Chad said re-opening the one cabin for bed-and-breakfast stays was an option.

As for Brenda, she’s happy to stay in her studio and let here children run the business.

“They do a great job.”

“For me, it’s golf,” Paul added. “that’s in my future.”

Brenda did lament, however, that “COVID kind of stole our retirement from us.”

Otherwise, Paul said, they

were absolutely happy with the life they’ve had at Pinecroft.

“We’ve been lucky,” Brenda allowed. “We’ve been able to do what we wanted to do.”

But, she added, “It was a lot of really, really hard work.”

Still, she felt great that they’d been able to preserve the property, and a Royal Ontario Museum curator, on a visit, had told them they had to longest continually-operating pottery in Canada.

Brenda added, “We have a really great staff. We really do. They really toughed it out through COVID, with the double-masking and running around outside in the heat.”

“You’re nothing without the people you work with,” Chad said, adding Pinecroft had about 22 employees on staff this year.

Pinecroft is open seven days a week, with gift shop hours from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. and the tearoom, which has been licensed since the last major expansion of the business in 2013, from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m.

Sarah Smith takes a tray of homemade bread out of the oven in the kitchen at Pinecroft Pottery and Green Frog Tearoom. The restaurant is known for its bread, which comes out of the oven just before food service begins each day. (AE/Rob Perry)

The pond at Pinecroft reflects some of the 85,000 pine trees planted on 54 acres starting over a century ago by Arthur Caverly, the owner of the property then. Anyone is welcome to visit Pinecroft just to walk around and tour the sights. (AE/Rob Perry)

Brenda Smith, the principal potter at Pinecroft, shapes a pot on a wheel at her studio overlooking the pond at Pinecroft. A teaching studio nearby, big enough for eight students, is full each of the two days a week she gives classes. (AE/Rob Perry)

Disbrowe Chevrolet Buick GMC Cadillac (and soon Corvette) of St. Thomas recently celebrated its 100th anniversary as a dealership, but Karen Johnson, who owns the business with her husband Paul, remembers her parents getting their start when they took over Carriage Pontiac Buick GMC in Aylmer in 1981.

by Rob Perry of The Aylmer Express Her father Carl Ansingh, who had worked for General Motors Canada for 10 years, and mother Valerie were approved to take over the Aylmer dealership, with help from their daughters Karen and Christine.

Despite opening in the middle of an economic recession, Karen said, they grew the dealership into a thriving success.

Asked what it was like growing up in Aylmer, she said, “It was really neat. We moved in 1980 to Aylmer from Mississauga.”

As for high school, “I loved East Elgin,” Karen recalled.

“The people were great.” She was very involved in sports and student council while at EESS, and still was friends with many of the students she’d know there.

“To me, it’s been a great area to grow up, but also to raise our kids.”

Their first Sunday in Aylmer was “so quiet,” because everyone seemed to be at church, she said. That first impression made her wonder whether she’d like the town, but as it turned out, “We loved it. It ended up being the best decision our family could have made.”

Establishing a new dealership was tough, “and very much

a small business setup.”

She remembered her mother Valerie having to learn how to be a financial controller. “She worked for free for several years.”

to this day, “was treat people right,” providing great customer service and working hard to get their business.

Carriage became a very effective sales point for GM,

GMC Cadillac hosted the August St. Thomas and District Chamber of Commerce Business After 5 social and used the opportunity to celebrate its 100th anniversary.

Casino-style gaming tables (using fake money and good only for tickets on draw prizes) were dotted throughout the dealership to bring an air of glamour to the party, and they were full through most of the two-hour event.

Karen estimated the size of the crowd at over 200.

“Few businesses can look back on 100 years of achievement,” she told the crowd, and in Disbrowe’s case, that was largely a testament to loyal customers and a dedicated staff.

Peter Bagnall, GM Canada’s Director of Sales, Central Region, lauded the Ansinghs and Johnsons for their efforts in recent years to make the dealership such a success.

“What a turnout! What a night! The building looks absolutely fantastic,” he observed.

He described celebrating the 100th anniversary of the founding of a dealership as rare and “absolutely exciting” in what was such a competitive business.

He noted he had driven the Corvette e-Ray from Oshawa to St. Thomas and, despite having a 0-60 miles per hour acceleration time of 2.5 seconds and, for the first time ever in a Corvette, all-wheel drive, he hadn’t collected a ticket, and hoped for the same on the way back.

He also pointed to pickup trucks on prominent display at

the dealership, adding he knew they were the heart and soul of a rural area. Carl, given his chance to speak, credited his daughter Karen and her husband Paul for the continuing growth of the dealership. Some might think the children of a GM dealer could automatically take over the business when the time came, but that wasn’t true, he continued. “You have to earn the right to be a GM dealer.”

Karen had graduated with straight A’s at Laurier University, he said, and then spent a year in a cooperative education position with GM Canada. She was rewarded for her work, he said, by her first fulltime job with General Motors, “Making tanks in London.”

(GM Diesel in London, which made light armoured

vehicles, was later bought out by General Dynamics.)

That was where she met the love of her life, her future husband Paul, Mr. Ansingh said. He noted he’d always pointed out to them that, if they did want to become dealers, they had to move away from the family business and do other work for GM first.

They went to British Columbia for 10 years, and then Carl advertised for a sales manager for Disbrowe.

Karen asked if he’d consider her, and her father admitted that hadn’t entered his mind because she already had an outstanding career. But she came back to take on the toughest job at a dealership, the used car sales manager. Paul, meanwhile, on a visit to the Ansinghs’ cottage, went out fishing one day with

London dealer Ken McMaster and came back with a job as a service manager.

Carl said both of Karen and Paul’s children had also worked at Disbrowe at one time, and while Taylor was now pursuing her own career but still helped out with marketing and other tasks at the Disbrowe, Bradley was “selling cars

Karen said her first summer in town, she worked detailing cars, changing oil and doing rustproofing, then other positions in following summers.

She tried working in the tobacco harvest, like so many of her fellow East Elgin Secondary School students, “but I really loved working in a car dealership.

“It was hard work but I enjoyed it. I loved working with the team we had at Carriage,” and local residents were “just so friendly.”

The businesses key to success, she said, which continued

which grew to the point where General Motors asked her father to consider taking on a larger dealership in St. Thomas.

He’d wanted to hang onto Aylmer as well but needed to sell that location to finance his next opportunity, and GM didn’t like dealerships owned by the same person being too close together.

Carl and Valerie took over Heath Chev-Olds in 1987 and added Cadillac to the lineup there. And in 1993, GM approved a merger between Heath, which had been renamed Carriage, and Disbrowe Pontiac Buick GMC as a partnership, retaining the long St. Thomas heritage of the Disbrowe name. In 1997, Carl took over as sole owner of Disbrowe. In following years, Karen, who worked in various jobs for GM Canada, returned home to Disbrowe and eventually took over ownership in 2014, with her husband Paul. (More on that later.)

Disbrowe Chevrolet Buick

She also pointed out “eye candy” contributed to the event by GM Canada in Oshawa, including a Cadillac Escalade VSport SUV, a 2024 Buick Envista that wasn’t yet on sale in Canada, a new all-electric Cadillac Lyriq (Disbrowe has already sold two) and a prototype hybrid “e-Ray” Corvette that was still being refined prior to production.

Steve Plunkett, a renowned London car collector, had also loaned his 1930 Cadillac 16-cylinder Roadster for display inside the dealership.

Ms. Johnson said the dealership had four generations of customers it had sold to over 100 years, and “We understand our business is our community. We’re nothing without you guys.”

That was why the dealership was proud to support many local charities, she continued. From a “grass-roots” operation that started in Aylmer in the midst of an economic downturn, Ms. Johnson said, Disbrowe now had over 50 employees.

Karen Johnson, left, Valerie Ansingh, Christine Coates, Carl Ansingh, Taylor Johnson and Paul Johnson stand beside the prototype of a new hybrid “e-Ray” Corvette during the 100th anniversary celebration of Disbrowe Chevrolet Buick GMC Cadillac in St. Thomas in August. The car was loaned to the dealership for the event by GM Canada. (AE/Rob Perry)

new processes and procedures to Disbrowe that she had learned during her GM Canada career, and which helped the dealership to continue to grow and prosper. When her parents started in St. Thomas, Disbrowe had about 30 employees, and now they were over 50.

As for the downsides of owning a dealership, retail hours could be long, and “It’s a lot of hard work. There’s a lot of risk, but there’s reward if you work hard.”

She’d been a hands-on dealer, she continued, but one who empowered their employees to do their jobs as well as they could. “I wouldn’t ask anyone to do anything I wouldn’t do by myself.”

GM, Karen said, “Has very high

standards.” Prospective owners had to go through a dealer school and work as a general manager before being chosen as a dealer. Her husband Paul has now been approved as a “dealer-successor,” in case anything happens to her, and he’s her right-hand person.

“Paul and I are a team,” she said. They’ve known each other since 1991, when they met at GM Diesel, and married since 1995.

electric vehicle charging stations on each lot.

Disbrowe was one of the first dealers to do so, with four public chargers and six reserved for the business and its customers.

Dealership buildings had to be renovated every five years or so, to keep up with changes in technology and business practices and provide new tools and new training to its service technicians on an annual basis. Sales personnel also underwent annual training, all a part of being a leader in business, she said.

Aylmer Home Hardware named best of its kind in Central Region

Few businesses can look back on 100 years of achievement,

“We are a team both at home and at work,” and she wouldn’t be where she was today without him, she asserted.

“You can’t be in this business, or any business, without great family support.”

GM Canada, she noted, also had standards that dealers had to continue to meet, such as a recent requirement, to continue with a Cadillac sales franchise, to install

As for the future, Karen said the shift to fully-electric vehicles was coming but would likely take time. GM dealers would all be equipped with chargers at some point, but other businesses and government needed to be involved.

“It’s going to be a gradual change,” she predicted, and even after that, she expected the dealership would still have to maintain some internal combustion engine vehicles, and while electric vehicles required less maintenance in general, they would still need regular “health checks,” tires and the like.

She believed, though, that dealerships would always have a place in vehicle sales. “I’d never want to invest in a vehicle I could buy just on the computer.”

She’d want to go somewhere, meet with actual people and take a vehicle for a test drive, she said.

Aylmer Home Hardware staff members Warren Smith, left, Michael Cook, Leo Klus, owner-dealers Aaron and Ada Kelly, Cole Kelly, Jason Taylor and Jeff Seniscal accepted

A large crowd of over 200 St. Thomas and District Chamber of Commerce members attended the St. Thomas and District Chamber of Commerce Business after 5 at Disbrowe Chevrolet Buick GMC Cadillac in August as the dealership celebrated the 100th anniversary of its founding. The theme for the event was casino-related, and guests played with play money for opportunities to enter tickets into a door prize draw. (AE/Rob Perry)

Teaching dancers for 40 years: “I just love it”

Tammy Mitchell of Tammy’s Dance Studio has spent the last 40 years teaching local youngsters, and even some adults, to dance.

by

Rob Perry of The Aylmer Express

“I just love it,” she declared in an interview. “When people ask me when I’m going to retire, I say it’s when it becomes a job.

“Right now, it’s just a love for dance,” which is reflected on here licence plate, “LUV4DANC.”

Her teaching season runs from September through April, and she’s just started her newest one.

Born to dance

Ms. Mitchell said she was born and raised in New Sarum and started dancing at age 4 at Errington-Graham Dance Studio in St. Thomas.

“My mother put me in it because a friend of her daughter was taking it,” she said. She told her mother she’d give it a try.

“Then it was game over. I cried the first day because I didn’t have ballet or tap shoes

like the others,” but otherwise, “It was just a given after that.” She said, “I just always felt the music,” and found she had an instinctive available to pick up the beat.

“I was a ballerina. I liked the ballet. And I liked jazz.” She didn’t care for tap but learned to later.

At 12, she was doing her gold medal for ballet at the Western Ontario Conservatory of Ballet in London, and her teacher told her parents if she

was going to continue, she’d have to move somewhere quite distant from her home.

“She had taught me all she could,” her teacher told her. “I was 12 years old, doing my gold medal in a class of 19- to 21-year-olds.

“I was far more advanced. They hated me.”

As a result, she was off at 13 to a summer program at the Lois Smith School of Dance at George Brown College in downtown Toronto for a summer program.

She did a six-week course in ballet, jazz, character (A Russian style of dance) and modern. “I didn’t like modern.”

Royal Winnipeg Ballet

Students in her class were the same age she was, including three girls from the Royal Winnipeg Ballet School who lived in residence with her.

“They said, ‘You should come to Winnipeg,” Ms. Mitchell said, where she would find, “Different teachers teaching different styles, and different disciplines as well. They gave me all the brochures.

“We just hit it off.”

She went home weekends, picked up by her mother, and the last weekend before the end of the program, Ms. Mitchell

“bugged her all the way home.”

Her mother responded, “You know that’s a province over?”

And Ms. Mitchell reminded her that “Ms. Lillian,” her teacher in St. Thomas, had advised such a move would be necessary if her studies were to advance further.

Her mother agreed to more studies, “But not a province

over. I argued with her.”

“It was exciting. I was a very determined child. Once I put my mind to something, that’s what I did. I’m still that way. I was very mature for my age. And I felt exhilarated. I knew I could do it. It was kind of get out of my way and let me go.”

She didn’t know, but the day after the drive home, her mother started making calls to Winnipeg about another summer program.

“Sunday I was on a plane out of London to Winnipeg.”

to the full-time school program.

But the school’s principal came into class one day, and pointed out to the teacher students who would be continuing in the fall at the school.

“Then he pointed to me, and said, ‘She’s coming back’.” The teacher reminded the principal that Ms. Mitchell had missed auditions.

“He said, ‘Get her back’,” adding she didn’t have to audition.

“I was just in,” Ms. Mitchell said. Her parents were proud when they learned this, “but my mum said, ‘We can’t do it’.” They didn’t have time to arrange a move and find her a place to live.

“I was like, ‘No, you have to let me go’.

“She wouldn’t let me go, and then in September, they (the school) wanted me back in two weeks.”

She remembered her parents

“took a lot of flak” for sending her on her own, but they couldn’t afford to accompany her. “I had no fear back then, either.”

Ballerina Evelyn Hart was the prima ballerina at the Royal Winnipeg Ballet, and, being from Dorchester originally, was a great inspiration to Ms. Mitchell. “She was a lovely woman.”

She also took a few classes from Karen Kain and her longtime dance partner Frank Augustyn.

No audition needed

She was in Winnipeg for three weeks but had already missed auditions for admittance

The ballet school agreed she could start in February instead, to allow her parents to work out the details, and she started Grade 9 at East Elgin Secondary School until her move. (She would later return for Grade 12.)

Devoted to dance

In Winnipeg, “I ate, breathed and slept dancing.” She attended a high school in River Heights, but because she was also a ballet student, got to leave there at 2 p.m. every day to take a city bus to the ballet.

There, she danced from 4 p.m. to 8 p.m. every weeknight and all day Saturday. She had Sundays off.

“The first year I just completely focused on dance. That’s all I wanted to do.”

In her second year, she started to feel badly about how much money her parents were putting out and got a part-time job at Swensen’s Ice Cream

Parlour. “I started eating ice cream and put on weight,” and had to discipline herself not to sample what she was selling. Then she began to mix more with the students at her high school and found another part0time job teaching dance at a small studio in Winnipeg at 15. Then, as she reached puberty, “I wanted more. I wanted to live a normal life like all the other kids I went to (high) school with.”

Her body also changed as she grew older, more muscular than a classical ballerina’s physique because of her pursuit of

Tammy Mitchell founded Tammy’s Dance Studio in Aylmer 40 years ago. As a teen, she was a student at the Royal Winnipeg Ballet school. (AE/Rob Perry)

nastics, and I coached for the St. Thomas competitive team.”

Doing that convinced her she could teach dance after all and opened her studio at the Aylmer Optimist Club in 1983, advertising for students to register.

“And I never told anybody I was doing it, because I wanted to make sure it was going to be successful before I told anyone.”

But her mother saw the newspaper advertisement and called up to ask who might be behind “Tammy’s Dancing School,” as it was initially known.

“I asked how many Tammys do you know in Aylmer who know how to dance,” she recalled with a chuckle. And then she cried because only 10 students had registered.

Her mother told her to put another ad in, and she ended up with a class of 25. She taught ballet, tap and Jazz on Saturday mornings, to children as young as 5 up to 12 or 13 to start.

She also taught a women’s tap class.

“It was good. I used all the money from my registration to

buy music and a record player. I started with nothing.”

After she paid her rent at the club, “All my money was gone. But I had to start somewhere.”

Finally a studio

She then taught in the basement of her house on Parkview Heights for another two years, before moving above what’s now the Aylmer IDA store at Talbot and John streets downtown, and held a grand opening for her studio, “Because I had the actual studio.”

The concrete floor wasn’t ideal to teach on, but she put in mirrors and balance bars, and had a silhouette of a ballet dancer on one wall. Registration grew every year after that, especially given the only other pursuit for girls in town at that time was figure skating.

“It became popular at that time because (the movie) ‘Flashdance’ came out, and ‘Fame.’

“And all of a sudden, dance took off around the world, because of these movies. Everyone wanted to dance.” And lot of figure skaters came for classes as well, to practise their skills.

She worked with them on posture and what to do with their arms, as well as how to present themselves during a performance.

with jazz dance moves.

She’d had a few young male students over the years. “The boys all want to dance, but they want to be in a class with other boys.”

They didn’t realize the coordination and balance they could learn. Many didn’t realize professional football players took ballet classes to improve those abilities, as did hockey players.

She also taught men special dances for when they got married. “I’ve done choreography for quite a few weddings.”

COVID was disastrous

Now, she added, many of her students were the children of her original dancers. She followed the same approach to teaching as her own teacher from St. Thomas did. All the students get tap, ballet and jazz instruction.

When she’d started, she did more classical ballet instruction, but now stressed lyrical and contemporary dancing as well, which had become more popular with television shows like “Dancing with the Stars” and “You Think You Can Dance.”

She’d danced when she was younger with some of the professionals on those shows, she added, as well as the judges.

Pop culture

Popular culture definitely had an influence on dance, she stated, but as hip-hop became more popular, she never really took it up.

“I was too much of a classical dancer. I was too flowing and classical,” though she didn’t like to mix up her style

The COVID pandemic was not a good time for her dance studio, nor for her full-time hairstyling business. Before COVID, she’d had 117 students registered for classes over three nights a week, as well as occasional adult classes in Zumba, dancercise, fitness and line dancing.

Both her studio and her hairstyling were shut down immediately when pandemic restrictions were first imposed.

“I was the first one shut down and the last one to open. It was very devastating.”

She applied for and received government grants to assist those left without jobs due to COVID, but by that time, she already found herself in debt.

“I fought through it,” she continued. Her businesses were shut down four times during upswings in the outbreak, usually just after she’d opened and was following all the guidelines to remain open.

When she did get to teach, in what was normally a “very hands-on” process, “which is very difficult when you’re teaching three-year-olds,” and

everyone had to stay at least six feet apart, and at times wear face masks while dancing.

She marked out 10-foot boxes on the floor of the Columbus Club, her longtime and current home for classes.

“As long as they followed the rules, they could dance,” but parents couldn’t even come inside to watch.

Coming back

Last year, she had 72 students and the first public recital at the end of the dance season since 1999, but even that was reduced from what it had once been.

This year, she has 85 students so far (she welcomes newcomers through the year.

“I’m very happy. I’m trying to build it back up.”

But the recital last April was limited to just two performances, rather than the four of previous years.

She’d like to get back up to at least 100 students.

Ms. Mitchell praised Columbus Club for being a generous landlord over the years.

“They’ve been marvellous,” giving her a lot of breaks during COVID.

She taught there three weeknights a week, and each tried to accommodate the needs of another.

“I over the years have been

very fortunate. I have wonderful parents, I’ve had some really good kids, and it makes a big difference.”

“I have amazing demonstrators,” older students who helped with the younger ones.

“I’ve had a pretty lucky and fortunate

Tammy Mitchell posed with a group of 2- and 3-year old dance students at Trinity Anglican Church of Aylmer in 1996. The students included, front, from left: Chloe Swinn, Madson Levesque, Emily Gillies, Kaitlyn Bridges, MacKenzie Matthews, Paige Booy, Marissa Holmes; back: Meagan Bridges, Megan Lediet, Holly Saarloos, Ms. Mitchell, Alex Hoffer, Richelle LeBlanc and Stacey Franklin. (AE/contributed)

Leaping across the stage were, along with other 13-18 dancers, Alexis Ward, left, and Ashley Shea as they performed in a “jazz versus ballet” number, “The Way You Make Me Feel.” (AE/Rob Perry)

Jaxon Wagler, front middle, and Jade Balaszy emerged through an archway formed by fellow age 4-6 jazz-tap dancers Jade Langevin, left, and Gaby Walker during “Chapel of Love.” (AE/Rob Perry)

ETBO: An Elgin County manufacturing powerhouse with a heart for the community

ETBO is not just a manufacturing success story; it’s a testament to the enduring spirit of community and giving back. Since its beginning in 1958, this family-owned business has been rooted in Elgin County, thanks to the resilience of the Borm family, who immigrated from Belgium.

Submitted

design and manufacture of thin metal tooling and automation solutions. The company maintains a large tooling department and manufacturing capacity, a

highly competitive cost structure, and a commitment to research and development that drives innovation. Their clientele spans various industries, including automotive, medical, and aerospace, where their knowledge and experience provide confidence and peace of mind. Their newly expanded 150,000-square-foot facility stands as a testament to their innovation.

ETBO’s commitment to its community is deeply ingrained in its values. As proud owners of ETBO, Etienne and Heather Borm recognize the importance of supporting the place they call home. The Borms recently demonstrated their community spirit by donating $50,000 to Terrace Lodge, a 100-bed Long-Term Care Home in the Township of Malahide. Their invaluable contribution provided the ‘Comforts of Home’ to the newly renovated family dining room, guest suite and lounge areas within Terrace Lodge, one of the three Long-

Term Care Homes within Elgin County.

“We’re proud to donate this sum of money to Terrace Lodge. We think it’s an extremely worthy cause for the community, and it’s a way for us to share and give back to the community that was so good for us,” said Etienne Borm, reflecting on their donation.

“In our family, I think Terrace Lodge will touch and become part of our lives for all of us at some point in our life, whether it’s swimming lessons or whether it’s dealing with an aged parent.”

ETBO’s commitment to community support extends beyond their generous dona-

up to business leaders like ourselves and leaders in the community to support each other in the community and

Heather, left, and Etienne Borm of ETBO Tool and Die Inc. donated $50,000 to the “Comforts of Home” fundraising project, represented by Malahide Mayor Dominique Giguère, for Elgin County’s Terrace Lodge long-term

home in Malahide recently.

(AE/contributed)

ETBO Tool and Die Inc. is situated on the east side of Richmond Road, just north of Calton, in Bayham. It was established in 1958, and now incorporates 150,000 of floor space. (AE/Rob Perry)

Site preparation “ahead of schedule” for new Volkswagen battery plant

Geotechnical engineering activities supporting Volkswagen-PowerCo plans to build an electric vehicle (EV) battery manufacturing facility in St. Thomas by 2027 are proceeding and phase one of the construction site’s preparation is ahead of schedule.

by Joe Konecny Local Journalism Initiative reporter

The Aylmer Express

“The site being prepared for the battery ‘gigafactory’ will be delivered in phases to allow construction to begin as soon as possible,” according to Mike Kerkvliet, manager of business development and entrepreneurship for the St. Thomas Economic Development Corporation. His comments are included in Episode 10 of the corporation’s YouTube video.

“The progress on phase one has been very good despite some challenging weather conditions and work is currently ahead of schedule,” added Mr. Kerkvliet. “Much of the scraping (of the industrial park’s originally treed landscape) is complete for phase one and continues to progress very quickly.”

After a competition between 90 potential sites around the world – including 40 in North America – the German motor vehicle manufacturer announced March 13, 2023 that it will build Volkswagen’s first overseas gigafactory at the 1,500-acre industrial park in the city’s north-east end.

The plant is forecast to employ 3,000 workers and create some 30,000 related jobs.

opment Corporation. Her comments are included in Episode 12 of the corporation’s video.

“Before any construction begins, geotechnical engineers study the site,” added Ms. Noble. “They examine the soil, rocks and ground water to understand the property using bore holes. This work helps to prevent accidents, delays

Ms. Noble. “The ridge that cuts through the site (is) known as the St. Thomas moraine, and the activity currently on site is to move (the) high point of that ridge to lower elevations.

“This testing assists in designing foundations and structures that can support the planned industrial facilities,” she added. “Engineers collect soil samples from the bore holes from different depths to determine its physical and chemical composition and physical strength. They test how easily the soil can be compressed, how much weight it can bear, and if it’s prone to settling or shifting.”

partners including Ontario ministries of: Economic Development, Job Creation and Trade; Transportation; Environment, Conservation and Parks; as well as Municipal Affairs and Housing. Crown agency Infrastructure Ontario was an early partner in the project. Officials from Hydro One and Canadian National Railway Company (CN) are also at the planning table.

Hwy. 3 and Yarmouth Centre Road.

In 2022, it signed a memorandum of understanding with the Government of Canada focusing on battery value creation, raw material security and the promotion of ‘e-mobility’. Canada’s auto sector sup-

Among the many infrastructure implications of the VW plant, reworking the local transportation network has emerged as an important consideration.

There are also plans for a new Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) station to be built within two kilometers of the site.

The Ontario Ministry of Transportation (MTO) retained Stantec Consulting to complete the design and class environmental assessment study for improvements to Hwy. 3 from Hwy. 4 to Centennial Avenue.

Speed limits in the area have already changed. Limits were reduced to 60 km/hr on Ron McNeil Line, from Highbury Avenue to Yarmouth Centre Road; Yarmouth Centre Road, from the railway tracks to Ron McNeil Line; and Edgeware Line, from Highbury Avenue to Yarmouth Centre Road.

Geotechnical engineering, or geotechnics, at the construction site will enable workers to reckon with the behavior of earth materials through the application of the principles of soil and rock mechanics.

“There is a team of geotechnical engineers on site monitoring this site daily to ensure safety and efficiency throughout the construction process,” said Sarah Noble, Marketing Communications Manager, at St. Thomas Economic Devel-

Ontario Bill 63 – the St. Thomas-Central Elgin Boundary Adjustment Act – expanded the St. Thomas boundary and annexed farmland, wetlands and woodlots, worth hundreds of millions of dollars, from Central Elgin. About 75 per cent of land accumulated for the new industrial park was located in Central Elgin but is now owned by the City of St. Thomas.

and costly repairs, making it a crucial part of any industrial construction project.”

She said there are more than 150 bore holes across the property, probing to depths between two and 15 meters. Tests show the soil on this site is comprised of about 300 millimeters of topsoil, then about one meter of mixed silt, followed by a layer of clay, down to a bedrock level of about 30 meters.

“At one time these materials were all glacial deposits,” said

“Based on the soil testing results, geotechnical engineers design appropriate foundations,” she said. “If the soil is soft or prone to settling, they may recommend deep piles or specialized foundations designed to ensure the stability of buildings and equipment.

“Understanding the ground water level and flow is also vital,” said Ms. Noble. “Engineers assess how water may affect the construction site and design drainage systems such as sump pumps or drainage ditches to manage excess water.”

St. Thomas Mayor Joe Preston has also formed an industrial development team to guide the VW project. The team has engaged various planning

There are plans for: a new Highway 3 alignment bypassing Talbotville, connecting Hwy. 3 near Ron McNeil Line to Highway 4; as well as the widening of existing Hwy. 4, from the new Talbotville bypass to Clinton Line.

MTO is also proposing: the twinning of the existing Hwy. 3 through St. Thomas to the Township of Southwold (Centennial Avenue to Ron McNeil Line); and upgrading the Hwy. 4 and Hwy. 401 interchange.

St. Thomas is also considering the expansion of Highbury Avenue to six lanes from Ron McNeil Line to South Edgeware Road. Three roundabouts are planned. Another proposal would add an arterial road through the VW site, between

Since 2020, Canada and Ontario have attracted more than $17 billion in investments by global automakers and suppliers of electric vehicle batteries and battery materials. Five major automakers build their vehicles in Ontario, including Honda, Toyota, Ford, General Motors and Stellantis. Volkswagen Group is one of the world’s largest automakers.

Local leaders remark on Elgin’s steadfast,

AYLMER & AREA CHAMBER OF COMMERCE

Jamie Chapman, President

Aylmer and Area Chamber of Commerce

The Aylmer and Area Chamber of Commerce has been working hard to deepen our roots and build stronger advocacy for our members.

Currently, we are a member of the Ontario Chamber of Commerce. Some recent advocacy discussions have taken place through the Ontario chamber network on mental health and addictions to create awareness of existing mental health supports in the community, find tangible recommendations from members to address the crisis and the industry/businessspecific mental health impacts.

The Aylmer & Area Cham-

ber of Commerce attends biweekly online meetings to offer input, learn from others and broaden the awareness of our members and community.

Additionally, this summer, the Chamber consulted members about the Employment Standards Act and the sick note requirement. We feel strongly that our members› voices are heard so feedback was submitted on these important issues. Most recently, the Board decided to increase the level of awareness and profile for our Chamber by becoming a member of the Canadian Chamber of Commerce. We look to drive change, build

capacity and partner broadly for the future of our members’ success. The Chamber has been working hard to help raise awareness right here at home for our members on social media through our Meet Our Members campaign. Thank you to the members who continue to support the Aylmer & Area Chamber of Commerce. We are proud of our business community and all that we have to offer.

Jamie Chapman, President Aylmer & Area Chamber of Commerce

Businesses expanding in Bayham

In Bayham, “Opportunity is Yours!” On the heels of a global pandemic, we are very pleased to witness business recovery and in some cases expansion. Key employers in our region are growing. This past year we have witnessed growth of some businesses through building expansions, including but not exclusive to ETBO, Legend Rubber, and Klassen’s Auto. We are also aware of plans to grow Underhill Farm Supplies with a new addition to their facilities. Our agriculture sector continues to thrive, as local farm families look forward to a bountiful harvest. Residential growth continues in Bayham, though not quite at the same pace as the previous two years. New subdivisions will be constructed shortly as they work through planning processes before construction can begin either

later this fall, or within the new year. In-fill residential growth also continues in other parts of our community. This growth is important to Bayham, as it not only creates jobs for local contractors, but increases the inventory of homes becoming available to meet the demand as people choose Bayham as the place they want to live. 2023 marked the return of our annual festivals including Edison Fest, Beach Fest and Watermelon Fest. The organizers for these annual events are to be congratulated for their tireless efforts at fund raising, organizing and running these admission free events, and the increased attendance by both locals and visitors alike. There remains an sense of optimism and prosperity as we look ahead. The spring announcement of the EV Battery plant in St. Thomas, and

the 3000 jobs that it promises to bring, along with expected tertiary industry and more jobs, inspires hope for spin-off interest in Bayham. By developing synergies with Elgin County regarding growth planning and economic development/ retention and expansion, should create further opportunity for researching creative ways to position us financially for infrastructure renewal and expansion to support growth in our area. We are very proud of our businesses, and grateful that they have chosen our community from which to operate. By working together we can help our local business thrive and thereby improve the quality of life for all our residents.

Ed Ketchabaw, Mayor Municipality of Bayham

MAINSTREET AYLMER

Kevin Cross, Chairperson

“Shop Hop” returning

MainStreet Aylmer welcomes you to the downtown to experience what Aylmer has to offer. We are excited to showcase our new street banners to reinforce the ‘experience’ message. Whether you are coming downtown to shop, dine or access services, watch a performance at the Old Town Hall, enjoy the parks or take in the historic architecture, Aylmer is truly unique. For many of our members, they are still working to recover from the pandemic and get their solid footing back. The BIA committee has worked hard to create programs that are inclusive of many of our businesses. Our evening Shop Hop is a favourite that will be returning this fall and of course the COOL BIA dollar program

which we will be launching for the holiday season early November. 2023 did not come without its challenges with the fire on Talbot Street East. We are hopeful that the construction to restore the area will happen this fall and work to recreate what that area will look like going forward.

Local merchants are proud to support many local fundraisers, teams and events. By supporting them, you support your community. Thank you to everyone who patronize our downtown merchants. We look forward to seeing you throughout the fall and Christmas season.

Kevin Cross, Chairperson Mainstreet Aylmer

businesses are CE’s backbone

due to multiple government policies. The Canadian Federation of Independent Businesses represents many small businesses located in Elgin-Middlesex-London and throughout Canada. In May 2023, they reported “Small businesses are hit the hardest by the carbon tax. They pay close to half of the carbon tax revenue collected by the government.”

Specifically in our region, the carbon tax has a considerable negative impact to our local economy. As we acknowledge the increased need for food banks and the rising cost of food, we recognize the impact of the carbon tax on our agricultural producers. Local producers and agri-businesses continue to see high costs for key agricultural inputs such as fertilizer, feed, and fuel, which are outpacing the rise in farm cash receipts.

Although, there are many businesses struggling we must celebrate the success stories in Aylmer-Malahide and throughout Elgin-Middlesex-London with the expansion of local markets, manufacturing, and agricultural initiatives. Small businesses continue to play a vital role in our community’s success story, and they will also continue to be leaders throughout these challenging times. Karen Vecchio, MP Elgin-Middlesex-London

Karen Vecchio, MP

MUNICIPALITY OF BAYHAM Ed Ketchabaw, Mayor

innovative businesses

TOWNSHIP OF MALAHIDE

Malahide seeks business input for strategic plan

Malahide is proud of all the businesses that thrive in our beautiful Township. We are also encouraged by the remarkable level of entrepreneurial activity we have observed in our area during the past year, with many of you, business owners, going ahead with expansions, strategic relocations, or innovative new ventures. This is despite the never-ending, wide-ranging list of challenges you are facing, from inflation to labour shortages. Your resilience is impressive, your entrepreneurial spirit is inspiring, and as a Township, we want to keep that momentum going. That is why, as part of our strategic planning process to map the path forward, we want to hear from you, our local business leaders. How can the Township ensure we are enablers of your vision? What are your goals and challenges? How can we serve you better, faster, and in a more costeffective way?

Ed

Many of you participated in our community survey last June and we thank you for that. If you did not a get a chance to contribute your thoughts at that time, I invite you to do so throughout the month of October, by contacting me directly (dgiguere@malahide.ca or 548.888.6252), or by reaching out to members of Council to share your insights and suggestions.

Malahide is committed to supporting the economic activity you are cultivating and championing. We are also committed to continuously enhancing our own operations in support of your business. Together, we will successfully navigate the opportunities and challenges posed by the economic growth coming to our area.

We look forward to hearing from you and wish you continued success.

ELGIN COUNTY

Business development at core of county strategy

Business development and retention is at the core of Elgin County’s Economic Development strategy. While we are excited with the soon to be operational Amazon Fulfillment Centre, located at the former Ford Talbotville site, and the 1000 jobs that it will bring to the region, we remain committed to retaining the existing businesses that have already chosen Elgin County as their base of operations. Elgin County’s re-branded Economic Development and Tourism unit is being deployed to support existing businesses as well as attracting new business investment to our region.

Aylmer on growth trajectory

The Town of Aylmer has continued a positive trajectory toward responsible and strategic growth in 2023. Our local businesses have continued to demonstrate resiliency and perseverance in economically uncertain and challenging times. I could not be prouder as the mayor to see new businesses continuing to open and our commercial and industrial sectors continuing to prosper despite these challenges. Council and staff continue to experience significant interest in new residential, commercial and industrial development in town. We look forward to enabling responsible, strategic growth in Town and enjoying

the related positive impacts for local merchants and industry. Key infrastructure projects to prepare us for the future are well underway. Most notably, this includes the construction of a new water storage standpipe and development of the Aylmer Industrial Manufacturing (AIM) Park. We are particularly excited to offer more industrial/commercial lands within the town to enable both the expansion of our existing businesses and the attraction of new businesses to our community. Looking forward to 2024, we know that Aylmer will continue to succeed as the key growth centre in East Elgin. As we

have modernized our organization and improved the way that we are able to communicate with residents and visitors, we look forward to continuing to improve based on the feedback we receive through public participation exercises (e.g. budget survey, parks and recreation masterplan, Mayor’s Town Hall sessions). We are firm believers in continuous improvement at the Town of Aylmer and want to hear any feedback members of our community are willing to offer.

Please continue to shop local and support the great businesses we have in Aylmer!

Jack Couckuyt, Mayor Aylmer

and business growth opportunities. Of course, the spring announcement of the

Battery Plant in St. Thomas and the investment it will bring into the region, including future tertiary business opportunities, presents some exciting times ahead. Elgin is working to position itself to capture a share of the investments coming to the region, which will be used to enhance infrastructure development to support new business and residential growth as we welcome newcomers seeking employment opportunities to our region. Elgin County is “Progressive by Nature” and is open for business.

Ed Ketchabaw, Warden Elgin County

Our Business Enterprise Facilitator Economic Development Officer is currently working with existing business owners across the region to determine current needs which will be used to develop a plan on how the County can further support local business. Tourism opportunities are further supported by our Economic Development and Tourism unit, through a well developed strategy involving promotional materials supporting local tourism and culinary venues, and boots on the ground attending events across the region. Elgin County, through its partnership with

TOWN OF AYLMER Jack Couckuyt, Mayor

Dominique Giguère, Mayor Township of Malahide

Dominique Giguère, Mayor

Ketchabaw, Warden

Freeman Electric in Aylmer but, “He always enjoyed working for himself. He liked being

his own boss.”

At the time, they mainly served rural needs, as well as friends and family.

The company “grew with tobacco,” and then, hiring John Pfeffer as an apprentice in 1975, the business began to branch off into other areas.

That diversification led to growth as more employees were hired, and diversity remains a key word for the company.

They went from residential and farm work to commercial and industrial, then to pole lines and underground power lines, and then into refrigeration and ground-source heating.

Most recently, they’ve gotten into installation of emergency natural gas generators.

Andy said the company reached its peak in the 1980s

with about 30 employees, at a time when Koolen Electric was doing much of the electrical work at Imperial Leaf Canada’s Aylmer plant.

starts in the business. “Mum wanted to get us out of the house,” Andy joked. Andy had originally planned to become a police officer, but after two or three years in university, “I started to miss the electric business. “Maybe it wasn’t as bad as I thought.

everything they did,” and that was part of the reason Peter chose “sky blue” as the colour for Koolen’s work trucks.

“He wanted it to stand out.”

It’s more than a job. It’s part of your life.

“I remember working in there when we were young, in summers,” he recalled, as well as at Timken in St. Thomas and for the Thames Valley District School Board.

Tim and Andy got early

“The hours weren’t always the best,” he added. He returned to his parents’ company in 1997.

Tim, the younger brother by two years, was more into electronics and fibre optic in his younger days, came back to Koolen Electric in 1999.

Andy said their parents had built their company on reputation. “It was a small town. Bad news travelled faster than good news. “They were very proud of

When Tim and Andy became full-time employees in the late 1990s, only John Pfeffer remained out of what had been a large staff.

Andy explained that their father had started to slow down when it looked like his sons weren’t that interested in continuing the business, before they returned to it.

Running Koolen Electric had meant a lot of long hours and working weekends as needed over the years, Andy said. They’d done (and continued to do) a lot of work for utility providers.

“You work when they work,” Andy explained, including, as they discovered, a lot of Christmases.

When they returned to Koolen, neither Tim nor Andy had gotten their licences yet, so they were still apprentices.

“It was quite the learning curve,” Andy admitted.

When Tim and Andy did get licensed, the company started to grow again, doing work for Elgin County, Aylmer and other municipalities.

They also initiated new services and installations that Koolen could provide. “Tim and I like diversity.”

Tim got his refrigeration licence because they’d gotten into both heat pumps and air conditioning.

They also each took on apprentices of their own.

Andy’s first apprentice was Matt Gavey, who’s now been with the company for 22 years.

After that, they only hired apprentices and trained them at the business, Andy added.

Tim said that was true until they started doing natural gas installations and found workers

who wanted to come over to Koolen from other businesses. Gas was a natural addition to the heating, ventilation and air conditioning work they were already doing, and taking on the addition work was easier than dealing with subtrades, Tim said.

They now have seven employees in addition to themselves and cover a market area of roughly an hour’s drive from Aylmer, in a mix of farm, commercial, residential, industrial and pole work.

Tim and Andy are also the full owners of the business, having bought out their parents 12 years ago.

Tim admitted, though, that they still leaned on Peter and Gayle from time to time. “I don’t know what I’d do without them.”

Andy said they took pride in their company name and instilled that in their staff as well.

“Everyone’s local,” he added.

He always enjoyed working for himself. He liked being his own boss.

Sometimes apprentices moved on, looking at working independently or starting their own company, but they often returned when they realized how much effort that entailed, Tim said.

Tim and Andy also praised their spouses for their support. Andy’s been married to Colleen (nee Bartley) for 22 years and

Tim to Amy (nee Pickering) for 21. They also try to donate to local causes when they can. They also sought to do business locally whenever they could, and hoped others would do the same for them.

As for the future, Andy said his son just finished Grade 8 and wanted to be an electrician.

Electricians were in short supply right now, he added, like other skilled trades.

The candidates to become apprentices had also changed from 15 years ago, when many were “hands-on country kids” who already had practical experience.

“These kids were born with a phone in their hands,” Andy lamented about more recent applicants.

And, Tim added, they looked at being an electrician as just a job.

“It’s more than a job. It’s part of your life.”

Andy noted, “There’s money to be made” for any young person thinking about a future career.

He worried that the new Volkswagen electric-vehicle battery plant would drain this area of electricians, and other customers would struggle as a result.

The demand for electricians was just going to grow, he forecast, considering the increasing growth of electric vehicles. Andy said they were concerned this area wouldn’t have the electrical distribution capacity to handle charging all the new vehicles likely to become dominant in a few years. However, a “load shedder” could be put in new houses, diverting electricity away from a charging vehicle to a stove to even the load on an individual service, and he expected a future full of other ‘workarounds’.

Tim said they were grateful to everyone who’s kept Koolen Electric in business for the last 50 years, and still had many of the company’s original customers.

Andy added that in some cases, they were now working for the second or third generation of a family or business.

Andrew Kunkel, left, and Matt Gavey of Koolen Electric finish digging a trench to run electrical conduit through for an apple cold-storage building under construction at Great Lake Farms in Southwold. Koolen, celebrating its 50th anniversary this year, got its start with rural customers, but has now branched off into industrial, commercial, residential and utility work, as well as heating, ventilation and air conditioning and, most recently, natural gas-powered emergency generators. (AE/Rob Perry)

Matt Gavey, here hauling out electrical conduit from a spool on the back of a Koolen Electric truck, started at the company as an apprentice 22 years ago. (AE/Rob Perry)