menu_open
Jim And Lisa Gilbert

Jim And Lisa Gilbert

Sarnia Observer

We use cookies to provide some features and experiences in QOSHE

More information  .  Close

Gilberts: Found circus poster tells a story

I know a lot of people, if they found a beat-up, bedraggled circus poster from the 1900s, would toss it in a dumpster without hesitation. I know a lot...

friday 8

Sarnia Observer

Jim And Lisa Gilbert

Gilberts: Troubled citizens roamed Chatham’s downtown in past

In the last year or so, there has been consternation, fear and helplessness with regards to Chatham's downtown, amid reports of young people and the...

26.04.2024 20

Sarnia Observer

Jim And Lisa Gilbert

Gilberts: Local mastodon bones discovered in late 1880s

I first heard about mastodons in our area when reading a small volume entitled The Recollections of Edwin Bassett Jones. Imagine looking out of your...

12.04.2024 10

Sarnia Observer

Jim And Lisa Gilbert

Gilberts: Concerns of 100 years ago have resonance today

In a December 1922 issue of the old Chatham Daily Planet, there were a number of articles I found interesting. In a December 1922 issue of the old...

05.04.2024 10

Sarnia Observer

Jim And Lisa Gilbert

Gilberts: Century-old concerns have resonance today

In a late 1922 issue of the Chatham Planet, I found a number of rather interesting articles. In a late 1922 issue of the Chatham Planet, I found a...

22.03.2024 7

Sarnia Observer

Jim And Lisa Gilbert

Gilberts: Good old days were not always so good

The year is 1838 and the once-prosperous, fertile farms of early French Canadian settlers near the mouth of the Thames River are in deep water. Any...

15.03.2024 6

Sarnia Observer

Jim And Lisa Gilbert

Gilberts: 1854 Jeannettes Creek train wreck one of Canada’s great disasters

In early days of rail travel, delays were the rule rather than the exception. “The scene presented after the collision was a horrible one....

08.03.2024 6

Sarnia Observer

Jim And Lisa Gilbert

Gilberts: Chrysler clan, devastating floods all part of Chatham history

Continuing my recent theme, I'm exploring two other aspects of Chatham-Kent’s fascinating history that I suspect many people don't know about....

01.03.2024 9

Sarnia Observer

Jim And Lisa Gilbert

Gilberts: Horseless carriage had rough start in early 1900s

Local farmers tried to ban them on weekends, while horse breeders and sellers opposed their growing popularity at every turn. Local farmers tried to...

23.02.2024 10

Sarnia Observer

Jim And Lisa Gilbert

Gilberts: From water wheels to iron horses, Park Brothers did it all

I've decided to ease the winter blues by providing some short, but very interesting historical facts about Chatham-Kent history. I’ve decided to...

16.02.2024 7

Sarnia Observer

Jim And Lisa Gilbert

Gilberts: Local elopement in 1870s read like a romance novel

Years ago, I was skimming through the Chatham Tri-Weekly Planet editions from the late 1870s and an odd headline caught my eye. Years ago, I was...

08.02.2024 7

Sarnia Observer

Jim And Lisa Gilbert

Gilberts: I bet a lot happened in Chatham-Kent you didn’t know

I’m launching Did You Know?, a new series of columns over the next few weeks that will make you a hit at all the events you’ll surely want to...

02.02.2024 10

Sarnia Observer

Jim And Lisa Gilbert

Gilberts: Martin helped advance Henry Ford's life, legacy

In the past I have talked about James Couzens who was born in Chatham but made a real name for himself working for Henry Ford in the very earliest...

26.01.2024 10

Sarnia Observer

Jim And Lisa Gilbert

Gilberts: Christmas history, myths, legends full of meaning, wonder

A month or so ago, I was musing that the origins of Halloween were “a delicious blend of pagan and Christian traditions.”

21.12.2023 6

Sarnia Observer

Jim And Lisa Gilbert

Gilberts: Christmas traditions in earlier times were much simpler

The very earliest Europeans to our area celebrated Christmas, if they celebrated it at all, in very simple ways. The earliest Europeans to our area...

15.12.2023 10

Sarnia Observer

Jim And Lisa Gilbert

Gilberts: Greenery figured prominently in early Christmases

The first thing most Canadians think of when they think of holiday greenery is the Christmas tree. The first thing most Canadians think of when they...

08.12.2023 10

Sarnia Observer

Jim And Lisa Gilbert

Gilberts: Mistletoe has long, somewhat sordid history

The pagan custom of decorating with winter greenery was readily absorbed into early Christian culture despite resistance from some church leaders who...

01.12.2023 10

Sarnia Observer

Jim And Lisa Gilbert

Gilberts: Ray Graham story has echoes of Richard Cory

He ran out of the William Pitt Hotel, down Sixth Street toward the Cenotaph and into McGregor’s Creek, where he disappeared under the water. His...

17.11.2023 6

Sarnia Observer

Jim And Lisa Gilbert

Gilberts: The slightly scandalous story behind the 1910-11 Chatham Maroons

It's November and almost all hockey teams in all leagues are back on ice. It’s November and almost all hockey teams in all leagues are back on ice. ...

03.11.2023 10

Sarnia Observer

Jim And Lisa Gilbert

Gilberts: Mystery of the woman in white

On June 12, 1908, a Chatham doctor was called out to do a house call (Remember those? Neither do I) on the Prince Albert Road just outside the city....

27.10.2023 4

Sarnia Observer

Jim And Lisa Gilbert

Gilberts: Return of cemetery stroll will bring a chill

People seem to like to go for a stroll in the cemetery near Halloween on cool, moonless, pitch-black nights. People seem to like to go for a stroll in...

20.10.2023 6

Sarnia Observer

Jim And Lisa Gilbert

Gilberts: Spirits of past Chatham-Kent residents tell tales during Cemetery Strolls

Historic cemeteries seem to not frighten us away but instead beckon us to come and visit, and learn about those who went before us! The wind...

13.10.2023 3

Sarnia Observer

Jim And Lisa Gilbert

Gilberts: A fond look back at Boblo Amusement Island

If you are of a certain age, the mere mention of Boblo Island Amusement Park will certainly bring back fond memories and endless summer afternoons...

07.10.2023 10

Windsor Star

Jim And Lisa Gilbert

Gilberts: A fond look back at Boblo Amusement Island

If you are of a certain age, the mere mention of Boblo Island Amusement Park will certainly bring back fond memories and endless summer afternoons...

06.10.2023 3

Sarnia Observer

Jim And Lisa Gilbert

Gilberts: Running around like chickens with their heads cut off

Ever held a chicken by its wings and watched while your grandmother cut off its head with a butcher knife? Ever held a chicken by its wings and...

22.09.2023 2

Sarnia Observer

Jim And Lisa Gilbert

53cb1e77d68338a6ef1d52168ddb20c8