Letters – Our Readers Write: Summer 2025

Spring thrills

I wait with great anticipation and expectation for the arrival of each new In The Hills publication. Is it just me who pores through the pages looking for people I know? This spring magazine meets all the criteria for a great read and does not disappoint.

Searching through, I notice my friend and your new regional sales manager, Victoria Johansen. I applaud the work of Gary Skinn, Carrie-Anne DeCaprio and dozens of others at the Orangeville Food Bank [“A Day in the Life”] by up-and-coming writer James Gerus. I witness the success of Soulyve’s master chef, Phil DeWar [“Food and Drink”]. I also remember one of the founding members of the Mayor’s Youth Advisory Committee, Sean Carter, in his father’s firm’s advertisement [Carter’s, p. 81]. I’ve been captivated and delighted to see them in print. 

This issue is awash with both the promise of spring and the community calendar replete with exciting events, festivals, theatre and the arts. Something for every age and taste.

The eclectic mix of articles is both interesting and fascinating. I must admit I was fearful of the Headwaters bugs [“The Secret Lives of Little Things”], but reassured by the wonderful photography. Learning about the life-affirming, life-saving work of the Pine River Institute (I’ve known Dan Ardis since he was a young boy) restores my faith in humanity [“A Tight Hug”]. I read about the fantastic opportunity of international recognition through the RBC Canadian Open at Osprey [“Game Changers”] – all the while learning of the harsh realities and ever-present danger of illegal truck yards despoiling the landscape of our community [“Illegal Truck Yards”].

A delightful read for us all.

— Mary Rose, Orangeville (Rose is a former mayor of Orangeville)

From the pen of the artist 

I just wanted to tell you how absolutely overjoyed I was when I received the spring issue of the magazine and saw Janice Quirt’s page with my artwork on it [“Artist in Residence,” spring ’25] and the wonderful words said about me! OMG! It’s great! I am just so pleased. I feel like I have won the lottery. Thank you.

— Sue Powell, Hillsburgh

Nurturing a love of literature 

This is a rather untraditional submission for it is addressed to writer Peter Yan [“The Year in Books: 2024,” winter ’24]. I doubt that he remembers who I am, since I am merely a former student of his – more specifically, one of his last students prior to his retirement from St. Marguerite d’Youville Secondary School in Brampton. Unfortunately, due to the Covid-19 pandemic that plagued the second semester of my Grade 10 year, I never had the opportunity to thank Mr. Yan for establishing his faith in my writing and acknowledging its potential. It had truly been the first time in my life where someone looked at the words I had written on the page and planted the seeds of artistic confidence into my subconsciousness.

“Have you ever considered English?” he had asked.

“No, not really,” I replied. (Mind you, I had a notorious history of comprehension problems as a child.) “Why?”

“You should, because this is really good,” he said.

It is incredible what a small comment before the start of class could do to a doubtful teenager – a small, affirming comment over a simple screenplay assignment. These notes of encouragement would continue to litter my homework submissions, my essay about Midnight at the Dragon Café, and eventually my final project (on Google Classroom, of course), which laid the foundations for my current love and fervour for writing and storytelling. Ever since then I have accumulated a never-ending pile of books, all of which have been meticulously dissected and analyzed with the skills that Mr. Yan had taught me.

I am now 20 and a forensic science student at the University of Windsor. Betrayal, one may call it, for I should have been an English major! However, my STEM education has not obliterated my love for reading and writing, and I always try to make room for it despite how busy university life can get. Thank you, Mr. Yan, for being one of the most influential teachers I have ever had in my entire life.

— Madison Leung, Brampton 

Peter Yan replies

Madison, how could I ever forget a 99 per cent English student! I predict one day I will be reading your published work and writing a letter to the publisher bragging about how I was one of the first to witness your precocious literary talent before the fame. Looking forward to your first literary masterpiece.