Beaverdams church restoration a lengthy and costly project Bob Halfyard introduced guest speaker David Cowan, a well-known organist in Niagara, who was appearing in his role as President of the Friends of Beaverdams Church. David, a native of Thorold, illustrated his talk about the historic church with pictures showing various stages of the restoration work done over the past seven […]

Brian Narhi provides tips for tracing family roots. Duncan McLaren introduced Brian Narhi of St Catharines who chairs the St. Catharines heritage advisory committee and is a historian for Toronto based Archeological Services Inc. Brian has been awarded a Lieutenant-Governor’s Heritage Award for Lifetime Achievement. Brian began his presentation with an introduction to genealogy 101 stressing the importance of starting […]

Russ Milland goes in search of the Newfie Bullet Fellow PROBUS member Russ Milland has a keen interest in steam locomotion and railways. Russ gave a very interesting and lively travelogue presentation titled “In Search of the Newfie Bullet” based on his trip to Newfoundland and his search for stories and remains of the Newfie Bullet passenger train.d took 5,600 […]

Green burials one answer to concerns about environment Dan Plunkett introduced guest speaker Brian Culp who oversees St. John’s Cemetery in Jordan. Brian, who was accompanied by Rev. Pam Guyatt from St. John’s Anglican Church, talked about burials in general and introduced PROBUS members to green burials. Brian said that St. John’s Cemetery, which was established in 1841, offers varied […]

Tim gave a very interesting talk touching on the highs and lows in the history of steelmaking in Niagara and the products that were and are produced here. The Welland facility was originally constructed in 1918 by Dillon Crucible Steel Alloy Company. In 1920 the Atlas Crucible Steel Company purchased the company. The facility was acquired by Roy Davis and […]

Judge offers behind the scenes look at the Ontario court system Art Currie introduced guest speaker Robert Reid, Judge of the Superior Court of Justice for the Central South Region of Ontario. Judge Reid, a former St. Catharines lawyer who was appointed to the Superior Court in 2011, gave an interesting, informative and sometimes humorous talk about the courts and […]

Joe Vanderkooi presented a brief talk on memories of people he and his friend Noel encountered during a cross Canada bicycle trip in the early 1980’s. Riding from British Columbia, Joe said the mountain scenery was spectacular, but it was the people that made the trip so memorable. He talked about riding through a grasshopper infestation that literally coated the […]

Speakers offer tips on dealing with stress and anxiety Al Higgins introduced our online speakers, Jill Dennison and Sarah Orgra, mental health promotion and resilience facilitators from the Canadian Mental Health Association in Hamilton, who talked about the timely subject of “managing stress and anxiety during COVID-19. Jill, using a power point presentation, detailed definitions of stress and covered 10 […]

Dave Merritt delivers message that words can indeed hurt Jim Stangier introduced PROBUS club member Dave Merritt who in the past served as a leader-ship speaker for business and volunteer groups and was former director of the Florida Mental Health Association. Dave gave a very insightful talk entitled “Words Can Hurt” and illustrated his presentation with his own cartoon-style drawings. […]

Antique waterfowl decoy collecting is big business Jim Stangier introduced club member Ron Casselman who presented an illustrated talk about collecting handmade waterfowl decoys. Ron, who admitted that he was never a hunter, said he got his first decoy back in 1977. He went on to describe some of the characteristics, history and investment value of decoys. The history of […]

Dan Plunkett introduced guest speaker Juliet Dunn as an excellent singer, musician, organizer, and a good friend. Juliet, along with husband Peter Shea, was the founder of the TD Niagara Jazz Festival which has experienced amazing growth during its relatively brief history but is facing new challenges now in the light of the COVID-19 epidemic. The festival was honoured as […]