Letters – Our Readers Write: Spring 2024
Want to share your thoughts or insights about our stories? Drop us a line – we love to hear from our readers!
Missing local newspapers
Like Dan Needles, I too miss the local news (We Need to Stay in Touch, winter ’23). I once had business that took me halfway around the world repeatedly, but no longer. “Retired” on my isolated farm, my world grows smaller, and I want news closer to home. By-laws are more important than e-laws.
As one person in 40 million, there is little I can do as my influence is minute. I’m more interested in local political decisions because they occur faster and affect me directly. My opinion is about 100,000 times more significant in a smaller population, so I need to know what happens about water, store prices and the weather today.
There is only one printed newspaper now, and I visit town about twice a month for a paper that is no longer delivered. Hog and corn prices that were once radioed daily are no longer mentioned. City crimes may be important to GTA readers, but they are not important to me.
— Charles Hooker, East Garafraxa
A life in retrospect
Regarding your “In Retrospect“ pages in the recent winter issue: My paternal grandmother was a life member of the Mono Road Women’s Institute (Caledon), serving for years as their secretary. I have her pin and know what the friendship found in those gatherings of rural women meant to her as a WWI war bride. The reflection on the William Perkins Bull convalescent hospital in London brought back fond memories of researching and curating an exhibition on that hospital at the Peel Archives many years ago, and sharing story ideas with [In The Hills’ “Historic Hills” columnist] Ken Weber. Then there was the photo in “The Day the Arrow Died” featuring my dad and his two brothers. Wow! Not often one sees so much of one’s life and connections reflected in a magazine spread. I am so proud to have made some small contributions to In The Hills over the years. It is eagerly awaited and kept for years. Best of luck for the next 30 years!
— Diane Allengame, retired archivist, Peel Archives, Mulmur
Kindness
Re: Editor’s Desk “The Case for Kindness” [winter ’23]: The beginning and the ending lines of the quoted Women’s Institute poem were enough to bring tears to my eyes and a shiver to my body. Pettiness replacing kindness indeed – what has happened to “doing unto others as you would have them do unto you”? Thank you for reminding us all that we can be kind. Every single day.
— Sheilagh Crandall, Caledon
Related Stories
We Need to Stay in Touch – But Can Community Newspapers Survive?
Nov 27, 2023 | | Fence PostsVeteran writer Dan Needles laments the loss of printed news while pondering the future of journalism.
The Case for Kindness
Nov 27, 2023 | | Editor’s DeskAfter reflecting on 30 years of producing In The Hills, editor Signe Ball believes that what holds our community together is the willingness of people to care for other people.
The Day the Avro Arrow Died
Mar 21, 2009 | | HeritageIt’s been 50 years since Black Friday, the day the Avro Arrow was cancelled – and economic disaster spread like wildfire through the hills.
In Retrospect – Winter 2023
Nov 27, 2023 | | Back IssuesIn the final instalment from our archives, we’ve selected a number of stories that embody the kindness and the neighbourly compassion that has helped our small towns grow and flourish.
