Alliance working to secure site for a public art gallery Duncan McLaren introduced guest speaker Jean Bridge, a recent retiree from Brock University where she was an associate professor of Visual Arts. Duncan said that Jean is a community builder and a key member of the Rodman Hall Alliance. The alliance is leading the push to secure a public art […]

Guest speaker Suzanne Soto-Davies, publisher of Silver and Gold Magazine for Boomers Plus, has also developed a WISH (What If Something Happens) workbook. Suzanne, who was born in Peru and came to Canada when she was 15, said that her grandparents gave her the idea for the magazine which is published and distributed in southwestern Ontario four times a year […]

Wendy Sturgeon, the Executive Director of the Niagara Chapter, Native Women Inc., based in Fort Erie presented to us this month. Wendy, who was born in Toronto, is of Anishinaabe (Ojibway-Chippewa of the Thames or Muncee) and Welsh decent. She explained that her father came from a residential school and lost the connection with his heritage and now has no […]

Stewart Campbell, who lives in Helensburgh on the west coast of Scotland, is our first international speaker joining us through the technology provided by Zoom. Stewart was in charge of Health and Safety during construction of the English Channel Tunnel which was officially opened in 1994. He pointed out that the idea of a tunnel linking Great Britain and the […]

Adrian Petry, visitor coordinator at the St. Catharines Museum, presented to us on the topic: “Open for business – the Welland Canal in 1830”. Adrian explained that in the history of the Welland Canal the first canal is often overlooked. It was built between 1824 and 1829 prior to photography and few written records were kept with the result that […]

Marieke E. Schmidt, Professor of Earth Sciences at Brock University. Marieke has been involved in the study of Mars since 2005 and has been selected by NASA to be a participating scientist on the Mars Science Laboratory working with the rover exploration missions. Marieke said that the big question about Mars remains whether it is habitable. She said that Mars […]

Christine Allum, a senior advisor, investment engagement and stakeholder partnerships in the Investor Office at the Ontario Securities Commission presented to us at this month’s meeting.  Christine, a graduate of Ryerson University, previously worked at the Ontario Stock Exchange. Her online presentation was entitled “How to Protect Your Money from Fraud” and she also provided tips on working with a […]

Librarian reveals vast array of services now available Duncan McLaren introduced guest speaker Marcella Haanstra, the training librarian at the St. Catharines Public Library who has also worked in Collections, Programming and Reference. She is a graduate of the MLIS Master's Program from the University of Western Ontario (August 2008). Marcella, who’s presentation was titled “What’s new and how the […]

Condo managers tasked with many responsibilities Art Currie introduced guest speaker, Peter R. Greco, a graduate of Brock University, who is President of Cannon Greco Management Limited, a St. Catharines firm which specializes in condominium and residential rental management. Peter provided a comprehensive look at the duties of a management firm and also described different types of condo corporations and […]

Michael is a public speaker and activist, who in 2018 wrote and self-published Can't Read, Can't Write, Here's My Book using speech-to-text technology.