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John RhodesSarnia Observer |
In the Dec. 29, 2023 issue of Chatham This Week I told you about local automotive pioneer Noble Duff; in this column I would like to tell you about...
I am just now completing my 12th book, Boards & Bricks, which will feature a chapter on the history of Chatham’s many hotels. One of the more...
My friend Stephen Bellinger recently posted the included interior picture of the Crump Bakery and Confectionary to the Chatham History group on...
I am just nearing completion of the Manuscript for my 12th book which will be titled Boards & Bricks (plus a subtitle). The fifth chapter will...
When John and Isobel Garner built the Garner Hotel (in stages) they allowed for prime retail rental space at the King Street front. This was a...
One hundred or so years ago neighborhood grocery stores were common. Chatham, in fact, had 55 of them circa 1900. They were easy to...
I have been, of late, exchanging emails with a woman named Heidi Lanford of San Marcos, Texas. She has a connection to our Chatham-Kent’s...
The best asparagus? Kerr Farms of Chatham! I have a strong bias but I think a lot of people would readily agree with me on that issue....
The Belgian and Dutch population of Chatham Kent is a substantial one and has had a presence since the earliest days. One of the more...
There is a short street “over the creek” which is known as Sparks Drive. I have always referred to it as Sparks Court, my title for it...
Recently my friend Francis Peter Vink sent me a copy of a photo that recently emerged from a storage period of more than one hundred years; it was a...
Recently I was asked on the Chatham History Facebook group what caused the demise of Chatham’s Gray Dort automobile manufacturing concern. To...
In his Gazetteer of May 1885, historian James Soutar devotes considerable space to recording, not only who had business concerns within the town, but...
I operate a Facebook site known as Chatham History; we have close to 9,000 members. Participants often submit historic photos and information for...
My friend Pete Dyer recently sent me a photo of the ancient Park Theatre and it has an excellent story to tell. Date of the photo? That...
I host a Facebook site known as Chatham History where members submit photos and offer opinions as to content, dates, etc. I never know quite...
I am currently completing my twelfth book. It will be titled Boards & Bricks and will detail the history of significant Chatham buildings,...
In the July 19, 2022 issue of Chatham This Week I told you about Charlie Edelstein and his rescue of the ancient Grand Opera House. In this...
Darcy McKeough passed away recently.
Recently, my friend and colleague Kyle Reid sent me two perfect photographs of Dugald McNaughton and his wife Margaret McKerrall McNaughton and I...
When I first started to write about local history in the 1980s, I was fortunate in that there were still people alive with vivid memories pre-dating...
A short time ago my friend, Murray Jinks, sent me a copy of a black and white drawing done by his mother-in-law several years ago. I looked at...
I am always amazed at how a great story can be told by a simple photograph.