Letters – Our Readers Write: Winter 2020

Rural internet woes

Thanks for a fine description of the rural internet access problem [“At Home in the Office” autumn’20]. Despite a 2015 pre-election promise to deliver, the prime minister has yet to extend it here. Last week I checked (again) with the Dufferin IT office and learned that, while some of my property taxes are devoted to high-speed internet service for Dufferin County, I won’t be getting it. So I approached a small family-owned business hidden away in Hillsburgh, called Satronics Satellites.

Bell had been providing limited access at around 50 kbps for a high price, sometimes cutting me off, and governments had been mouthing platitudes for years. Satronics spent less than an afternoon to install 13 Mbps here. Satronics is readily accessible, and if I ever lose communications, I can always drive a few minutes to their offices. Let’s forget about global-level infrastructure; we have better service locally.
Charles Hooker, East Garafraxa

I wanted to thank writer Paul Webster for a great article on our “lousy rural internet,” but for all the articles I have seen written over the years, a change is not coming quickly enough. It is time our Caledon mayor stops going on about SWIFT, as it is not coming “swiftly,” and starts standing up to Bell and Rogers on behalf of his rural constituents.

My husband, who has been working at home for many years, has been complaining to our mayor about the cost and dependability of our internet service for quite some time now. It is appalling for this day and age that those of us who live in rural Caledon are charged so much for crappy internet.
Donna Acton, Caledon

At the Dingle Schoolhouse, in the shelter of the escarpment, wood engraver Rosemary Kilbourn has found a lifetime of inspiration.

Wood engraver Rosemary Kilbourn

Rosemary Kilbourn was one of my teachers in the ’60s at the new Art School of Toronto. She certainly made drawing approachable. So I decided to do a bit of research on her life and art. This article found online [“Rosemary Kilbourn: Light, Line & Lyricism” autumn’11] about her work took me immediately into her unique home, the countryside, her ideas and thoughts about printmaking and stained glass. It is almost like being there. What a treat! Thank you, writer Tom Smart.
Caroline Wickham, West Vancouver

On the border of Orangeville, Island Lake offers a welcome respite from the noisy clatter of daily life. Photo by Rosemary Hasner / Black Dog Creative Arts.

Kayaking correction

Just reading the fall issue. Great stuff, as usual! I noticed in the sidebar of Nicola Ross’s kayaking article [Good Sport], she writes that it costs $8 to launch a kayak at Island Lake. There is no fee for launching canoes, kayaks, paddleboards etc. The $8 fee only applies to trailered boats.
Dave Dawe, Mono Centre 

Editor’s reply: We appreciate the correction. The fee is only for the use of the cement ramp to launch a boat off a trailer. Separate, free launch points are available for kayaks, canoes and paddleboards.

Sometimes mistakes are fun

Editor’s note: In response to another error, one we made in our Facebook post about Connie’s Kitchen in Mono, we were delighted to receive this post:

We’re pretty sure you’re talking about a Connie’s Kitchen somewhere closer to you. Somewhere on the same side of the world, perhaps? The good news is we’re also in the business of canning and preserving food, mostly locally dried fish and sauces. This funny coincidence is even funnier because we also have an eggplant sauce, Eggplant & Olive sauce to be precise, that we sell as a pasta sauce or antipasto, just like the one you featured from Mono’s Connie’s Kitchen. Thanks for the tag, though!
Connie’s Kitchen, Manila, Philippines

Svetlana Ponkin demonstrates knitting with supersized merino wool at the Rare Threads shop in the Alton Mill. Photo by Pete Paterson.

Best regards

I just wanted to thank you for hosting me in your beautiful magazine in the section “Meet the Maker” [autumn’20]. It was beautifully written. It was such an honour and privilege. Since then, I’ve received many lovely compliments and have had lots of people come to the Rare Threads Boutique to meet me, see the items I have to offer and make purchases. Pete Paterson’s photos were awesome.
Svetlana Ponkin, Alton

Just want to tell you that I enjoyed this issue, as I do all of them, and to thank you for doing such an incredible job of producing In The Hills and keeping us entertained always with thoughtful articles appropriate for the time. It is a lovely consistency for us in the time of Covid.
Donna Davies, Caledon East

At the Edge of the Universe ~ by Patty Maher

Thank you for featuring my fine art photography in your fall issue!
I’ve been a big fan of your magazine since I moved to Caledon over 10 years ago now – and am very honoured to have my work featured [“Artist in Residence” autumn’20].
I’ve received quite a few inquiries from people in and around Caledon about purchasing my work and I have already made a few sales.
Patty Maher, Caledon