The Sydenham Women’s Institute is over halfway through its 100th year celebrations and 100 years of service in the community.

Inspired by Mrs. Adelaide Hoodless, an internationally recognized speaker and advocate for family education, Sydenham’s W.I. was organized June 25, 1919 during an afternoon meeting at the Lacey home, situated in the village of Sydenham between the railroad tracks and the bridge.

With a current membership of 25, the W.I. is still going strong, although annual fees have increased from their original 25 cents to $53.00. We occasionally meet in members’ homes, but most often we meet in the community room of the Sydenham library on the second Monday of every month. What has remained constant over the last 100 years is the W.I.’s dedication to rural living, local institutions, and individuals in the community.

The Women’s Institute has always raised money through bake sales, craft sales, and special events. In the 1920’s, money was earned by selling school lunches and sponsoring motion picture shows in the town hall during the winter weather. That money went directly back into the community, providing chairs for the town hall, cigarettes and candy bars to WWI veterans at the Kingston General Hospital, a few cords of wood for needy families, and Christmas cheer baskets for the sick and shut in.

As the years rolled on, the W.I. sponsored music lessons, public speaking contests, milk and hot lunches in local schools, sign boards for the roads approaching the village, layettes for local babies, and picnics and winter carnivals for local children. Just prior to the beginning of World War II, the W.I. sponsored health nurses in local schools and a tetanus clinic at Sydenham Public School, overseen by Dr. Sargeant. During the Second World War, the W.I. created care packages to send to soldiers, knitted socks and sewed bandages.

The needs of the community have changed over the years and it soon became clear that in addition to supporting households, the W.I. could support the infrastructure of the local community. Never shy of setting big goals, the W.I. set up a partnership with the Board of Trade and Loughborough Memorial Recreation Centre in 1946. The goal: to raise funds to pay for what we now know as “The Point”. This partnership continued until 1955 with the Sydenham’s Women’s Institute, through numerous small fundraising events, contributing an average yearly payment of $550.00! Once The Point was constructed, the Red Cross began offering swimming lessons and the W.I. still sponsors their efforts to teach children water safety.

Opportunities to help the community, large and small, continued to present themselves. Not afraid of hard work, in 1954 and 1967, the W.I. cleaned and repainted the Sydenham Cemetery fence. The decade of the 1980s saw frenzied fundraising culminating in a $2000.00 donation for the Town Hall’s new foyer addition and thousands of dollars were raised to furnish a hospice room at St. Mary’s of the Lake Hospital in the name of Dr. S. Rybak, a beloved local physician. When the Meadowbrook Seniors’ Apartments needed a new elevator, the W.I. contributed $1000.00. The new millennium presented the W.I. with the opportunity to contribute to new playground equipment at Loughborough Public School.

Since its establishment, there are many annual events with which the W.I. has been involved. Since 1962 the W.I., in partnership with other community groups such as the Legion, has sponsored a Christmas dinner given to local seniors aged 75 or older. Since 1975 The Sydenham Women’s Institute Award is given to a Loughborough Township Grade 12 student who obtains high standing and is continuing their education. Annually, the W.I. also supports the Food Bank, the Loughborough Christmas and Emergency Relief fund, July 1st events at The Point, 4H, Remembrance Day at the Sydenham cenotaph, and the Sydenham tree lighting ceremony while continuing to respond to the needs of fire victims, single mothers and victims of domestic violence.

The W.I. can’t do it all, but over the past 100 years, members have done a little bit of everything, showing that with dedication and community spirit, much is possible. Workshops on bread-making and preserving fruits and vegetables, sewing and baking for charity and craft sales, and charitable work continues to be part of the W.I. revealing the skills of its members and a dedication to the W.I’s mandate to support “healthy family and community initiatives”.

The DrugSmart Pharmacy in Sydenham is having an appreciation event for the Sydenham W.I. on February 19th; customers are asked to donate to our ‘shoe box for women in crisis’ campaign and ten percent of their profits that day will be donated to the W.I. On February 10th the W.I. will host “A Magical Evening” with Rob Driscoll at the Mapleridge Apartments. There is a craft and bake sale on May 23rd at the Grace Centre, 4295 Stage Coach Road, Sydenham from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. Furthermore, homemade pies, squares and cookies are our specialty and will be available at our table at the Lions Hall during the Verona Car Show August 9th.

Whether you are new to the community or just new to the Women’s Institute, you are welcome to join us for our monthly meetings (second Monday of each month at the Sydenham Library, 6:30 p.m.). For inquiries, please contact Shirley Fox, 613-376-3689.

The coming year marks the 30th anniversary for Southern Frontenac Community Services Corp. (SFCSC). Thirty years delivering on our mission to work with others in the provision of health and social services and to contribute in ways that improve and maintain the quality of life of residents of South Frontenac and rural Kingston.

A large number of our clients are older adults who take part in the many activities and services we offer. Grace Café on Tuesdays, writing clubs, card games, fitness classes, they’re all available. There are also health support programs for the frail elderly, caregiver support resources, in-home services, and day programs for seniors who need enhanced assistance and close monitoring such as those living with Alzheimer’s.

An important part of what we do is to offer affordable and reliable assisted transportation to seniors and older adults with physical and/or cognitive challenges to help them get to where they need to go. Some people don’t have the resources for transportation, they may no longer be able to operate an automobile, perhaps it’s difficult to arrange appointments around family’s schedules or they may not have friends who can help. For some it is not possible to travel alone, carry objects, stand for any period of time or stay alone at a destination.

That’s where SFCSC comes in. We drive people to medical appointments, to run essential errands, to come to the Grace Centre for our social activities and day programs, and we deliver hot and frozen meals throughout the area. Every month we schedule well over 500 drives for people who need our help.

Over the last year SFCSC: delivered more than 8,000 nutritious hot and frozen meals; provided more than 5,600 drives to medical appointments; covered over 150,000 km; and logged more than 6,000 volunteer driving hours

This tremendous effort is only achievable because of our team of dedicated volunteer drivers. Without them we absolutely cannot provide transportation services. Not to mention the myriad other tasks, jobs, commitments and ways our volunteers contribute throughout the organization helping to maintain health and social services that are so valuable to have in a rural community, close to our homes.

There are many reasons people volunteer. To give back to their community, to build new friendships, to share their time and experience, enhance skills or develop new ones. It’s all meaningful and valuable.

We’d love to welcome you to our team and invite you to be a part of things at SFCSC. All of our volunteers are screened and trained, and volunteer drivers are reimbursed for mileage. The first step is to reach out to our volunteer coordinator to talk about your interests and matching you to a rewarding role. Please call us, 613-376-6477 ext. 211 for more info. www.sfcsc.ca

Warden Ron Higgins held his 2019 wine and cheese reception at the Grace Centre in Sydenham last Thursday.

With special thanks to the Frontenac County staff and his fellow County Councillors, Higgins ended his review of the year with the admonition: “We must stay united as a county, and continue to work with the other counties of eastern Ontario as we move into the future.”

Incoming 2020 Warden Frances Smith praised Higgins as “the person who’s willing to ask the tough questions.” Referring to her new job as Warden, she quipped: “I’ve learned that at budget times, you have to separate the two Rons!” (Vandewal and Higgins).

Warden Higgins then introduced Neil Allan, Chair of the Frontenac Accessibility Committee, to present the Day of Persons with Disabilities Access Award. Allan announced that the award had been well earned this year by Southern Frontenac Community Services for their work to complete making both levels of Grace Hall fully accessible and barrier-free.

He listed the wide, paved pathway into and around the newly-created memorial garden, and the ramp system that now provides safe access to both the garden path, and the lower level of the hall, where the Adult Day Program is located. As well, the interior lift connecting the two levels of the hall has been completely rebuilt, and now operates reliably.

Susan Ward-Moser, SFCS Board Chair accepted the reward (a certificate and a plate on the plaque listing previous award winners). She said that there had been many challenges in adapting the over 150-year old building to modern use.

Ward-Moser spoke briefly of the many programs that are currently available at Grace Hall, all with the objective of making it more comfortable for seniors to remain in their homes and participate in the community. She added that the hall is also an emergency evacuation centre for the area.

To a certain extent, one of the biggest secrets on last weeks South Frontenac Community Services Garden Tour was right in their own back yard — the Food Bank Community Garden.

It’s actually been up and running for seven years, having been started by Master Gardener Janette Haase when she lived in the area. And its been a success on several levels, according to current garden steward Alan Macdonald, whose day job is teaching at Loughborough Public School.

“The Food Bank doesn’t tend to get as many donations in summer and that’s when the demand seems to be highest,” Macdonald said. “For one thing, kids do often get fed at school and when it’s not in session, they still have to eat.”

The garden/greenhouse goes a long way towards bridging that gap, he said.

But a community garden does a lot more than put food in hungry mouths, he said.

“A lot of our volunteers are students,” he said. “And it goes a long way to empower them, giving them a method for change by teaching them how to grow their own food.

“It also shows them that what’s on your plate is as much effect as what’s in your driveway.”

He said the garden is as much a classroom as any other.

“They learn about soil biology,” he said. “This is one of the few classrooms where results are measured by who has the dirtiest hands.”

It also meshes well with many in-class subjects such as learning how to cook and meal planning, he said.

“And some of these kids are potential food-bank users of the future,” he said.

And it teaches them to deal with problems that arise, often in creative ways.

“We’ve had a problem with battling Colorado potato beetles,” he said. “We’ve brought in some parasitic wasps and praying mantis eggs.”

They’ve also learned about things like floating row covers, which protect against bugs but also extend growing seasons.

Finally, they learn a lot from the adult volunteers that help out, many of whom are retired seniors with a love of gardening and lifetimes of experience.

“It’s very much an intergenerational story,” Macdonald said.

Volunteers get together on Tuesday mornings at the gardens on Stage Coach Road. If you’d like to become part of this, they’re always looking for more people and you can do so by contacting Heather Rogers at The Grace Centre (614-376-6477), or This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

There are farms. There are gardens. And then there is Robert and Sue Clinton’s back yard, a ‘garden’ that rather defies description, unless of course that description is “awesome.”

The Clintons’ spread was one of the eight properties featured in this year’s (2nd Annual) South Frontenac Garden Tour, a fundraiser for Seniors Services of Southern Frontenac Community Services consisting of a tour around their service area highlighting notable horticultural pursuits and a lunch provided by Chartwell Conservatory Pond Retirement Residence.

“It’s not a farm, it’s a folly,” says Robert Clinton. “I refuse to spray or water but there’s not a blemish on my (Asian) pears.

“The stuff that works, I plant more . . .”

And there’s a lot working here.

Technically, the Clintons will admit to having adopted the permaculture philosophy, which (according to Wikipedia) is a set of design principles centred around whole systems thinking simulating or directly utilizing the patterns and resilient features observed in natural ecosystems.

To that end, they have an entire field dedicated to a series of earth berms that provide and retain water.

Their garlic plants use a hugelkultur approach, which is the practice of burying large volumes of wood to increase soil water retention. They have about 500 garlic plants that appear to be doing quite well.

But while they do grow things most would associate with farming in this area (beans, flowers for their honey operation, plums, grapes and such), there is also an eclectic mix of things you probably wouldn’t expect to see in a South Frontenac farm/garden.

For example, they have thriving paw paw trees, which are normally associated with the Carolinas and the Southern U.S. They have three kinds of currents (red, white and black), shitake mushrooms, Asian pears, mulberry trees, heartnut trees (just like it sound, the nut is shaped like a heart), spindle trees (which were once used for making spindles on spinning wheels).

“The heart nuts and pine nuts are for the next generation,” Robert said.

They also have haskap berries, which is a sweet/sour berry that looks something like a large blueberry that’s shaped more like a football.

“They’re also called honey berries and they’re the new super berry,” Robert said.

In total, the Clintons have 1.7 acres of main garden/arboretum plus another four acres of woodlot/solar panel farm/berms etc.

“This was all furrowed fields when we bought 26 years ago,” said Sue. “Now, I do berries and vegetables and he’s the tree guy.”

Well, he is. He’s recently begun grafting Asian pears onto Barlett trees and it looks like this too will turn out to be a successful experiment.

But, while Clinton may have “always had the bug” to grow things, he’s getting to an age now where he’s adopted a particular philosophy as to what he’s doing.

“I’m not in the business of growing fruit,” he said. “I’m in the business of building soil.”

And doing it rather well, if the scores of fascinated visitors Sunday were any indication.

When contacted, tour organizer Nona Marriotti said the tour was “very, very busy this year. We sold over 100 tickets, and it was really, really good. People came from the United States, Kingston, over by Yarker and from South Frontenac,” she said.

One surprise bonus this year was that Chartwell Homes provided the lunch for tour participants.

“They provided box lunches, which was a bonus because people could sit and eat their lunch at the Grace Centre or they could take it with them with if they were in a hurry to visit the gardens.”

The tour includes gardens in the Inverary, Latimer and Sydenham areas, and Mariotti is hopeful that it will expand into other parts of the township in future years.

It is a fundraiser for Southern Frontenac Community Services, for which

Chartwell Homes – Conservatory Ponds. They were going to bring some people. Offered to provide the lunch. Could coe, pick it up and go, pr they could sit and eat it.

Chartwell provided boxed lunches for us. Everybody seemed very happy and very pleased with places. Asking for next year. I would like to see it go through and hit the whole county. Same day as the Sydenham Triathlon. Slowed a few people town. One of our gardeners had a sign in. Some people were from the states, Odessa area, kingsotn area. People who didn’t know South Frontenac said “they did not realise how beautiful it is here. “Very pleased with how it all turned out, and somebody really had pull with the weather. Sunday was the cool off day.

If you are looking for a day out in the country, try the 2nd annual South Frontenac Garden Tour, on Sunday, July 7th. Organized by volunteers including Nona Mariotti and Shirley Joyce, the event is a self-driving tour to visit eight beautiful private gardens across South Frontenac.

“We are grateful to residents who have agreed to welcome the public to visit their gardens,” says Nona Mariotti. “We ran the garden tour last year and the response was highly favourable – people asked us to do it again.” The gardens will be open from 9:00am to 3:00pm.

The Garden Tour highlights the natural and cultivated beauty of the region, and also raises funds for Southern Frontenac Community Services Corporation. “Many of us have benefitted from the many seniors’ services and programs at SFCSC, and this is our way of giving back,” says Mariotti.

The Grace Centre, home of SFCSC, is also a stop on the tour, where guests can see the volunteer-run vegetable garden, greenhouse, and new memorial walkway. In addition, it will play host to a drop-in lunch generously catered by Chartwell Conservatory Pond Retirement Residence.

Ryan Wilkinson, Retirement Living Consultant at Conservatory Pond says, “We are so very delighted to support Southern Frontenac Community Services and surrounding areas. We truly believe in making people's lives better, and are really fortunate to be able to step in where we can to help. The greatest reward is seeing our communities come together and flourish.”

Tickets are only $10 per person, and are available at a number of local merchants, the SFCSC office in Sydenham, and online through www.sfcsc.ca/gardentour2019. All ticket purchasers will receive access to an online map of locations and descriptions of the garden, or will receive a paper copy with their tickets. The details include the degree to which locations are accessible to people with walkers and wheelchairs.

For more information, including where to purchase tickets or to purchase them online, go to www.sfcsc.ca/gardentour2019.

Copper, the therapy dog, really works a room. He comes to the Grace Social Activity Centre (GSAC) in Sydenham on Wednesday mornings each week to visit with the participants in one of the Adult Day Program sessions that are a core service of Southern Frontenac Community Services. Copper meanders through the room, visiting with the program participants, reacting to them as they welcome him into their world.

And it is immediately clear that everyone at GSAC loves Copper.

His handler is Trina Mawer of the Parham area. She keeps Copper on a leash during the sessions, and generally takes a back-seat role.

“I am very proud to be a member of the St. John Ambulance Therapy Dog Program, even though most often people don't remember my name, as it's always all about Copper,” said Trina Mawer.

Trina is a lifelong dog lover, and she prefers large breed dogs. When she got Copper, a Leonberger, she found that not only was he big, but he was also very, very calm and very affectionate. His nickname is ‘Loving Lummox’.

That’s where the idea of putting Copper to work as a therapy dog came in. Trina thought that Copper could bring joy to people who need it.

“When I contacted St. John Ambulance about the therapy dog program, it was the beginning of a long journey. They are very careful about the way the program works, for the sake of the public, the dogs, the dog owners, and their own needs as an organisation,” she said.

“There really isn't any specialised training for a therapy dog, it's mainly their temperament and disposition. Although obviously obedience and manners are imperatively important. A therapy dog must be friendly and get along well with other dogs. Any signs of protection or aggressiveness is not acceptable.” 

The process did not begin with an evaluation of Copper, however. First, they interviewed Trina.

“They wanted to know what kind of person I was, and what I expected out of the program, before they even considered Copper,” she said.

Trina passed muster, and once they met Copper, they knew they had found the right dog for the program.

In addition to the Grace Centre, Trina brings Copper to the Country View Care Retirement Home once a week.

And Copper is an award winner. In his first year with the Therapy Dog program, 2018, he won the ‘rookie of the year’ award from St. Johns for the most visits in his first year with the program.

Although Copper is always game to go to work, it does tire him out.

“After about an hour, even he has had enough attention. He sleeps well when we get home,” said Trina.

Copper also gets a bit of the star treatment.

Not only are all of his medical records 100% up to date at all times, his coat is also soft and fluffy due to brushing at least 3 times a week.  He also “indulges in going to the 'spa' every 8 weeks at Groom to Bloom in Hartington,” Trina, “Lauren [who runs Groom to Bloom] gives him superb attention as her specialty is knowing the various breeds, coats and specifications.” 

The St. John Ambulance Therapy Dog program started in June, 1992 as a pilot program in Peterborough, and is now a nationwide program of St. John’s Ambulance. As of 2015 there were 3,000 dog teams across the country.

They visit senior’s homes, hospitals and other care facilities, as well as schools and universities.

For further information about the program, contact the Kingston office at (613) 384-8062

Last Friday, Southern Frontenac Community Services (SFCS) held a ground-breaking ceremony to celebrate the beginning construction of an accessible entrance to the lower level of the Grace Centre in Sydenham. This level is where the Adult Day Program, some admin offices and the commercial kitchen are located, and at present it is reached only by stairs or a small lift. The new ramp will provide full, safe access into and out of the main room, replacing the current short steep stairway in the northeast corner of the building.  

The project has been made possible by a $125,000 grant from the Ontario Trillium Foundation. OTF’s Grant Review Team member Rosemary Rooke and MPP Randy Hillier were on hand to congratulate SFCS’s Executive Director, David Townsend, and together they presented the Ontario Trillium Foundation’s plaque to Margaret Knott, Vice Chair of Frontenac County’s Accessibility Committee. In thanking them, Ms Knott quoted Rick Hansen: “Everyone should be able to go everywhere.”

John Garrah and Harry Tibbs from M. Sullivan and Son Contracting joined Hillier, Townsend and Knott in a brief groundbreaking ceremony, then along with staff and guests enjoyed refreshments on the adjoining patio.

Frontenac County did well by the Community Foundation of Kingston and Area this week. 5 of the 15 grants announced at a ceremony at Sydenham Street United Church in Kingston are going to projects that are located in Frontenac County.

They include a $13,104 grant to the Elbow Lake Environmental Education Centre’s Winter Ecology Education Centre. The grant is intended to provide the opportunity for youth to actively learn and research about winter. The grant will go towards new equipment and a bus subsidy.

“Youth and new Canadians will access and study winter ecology first hand. They will learn what is happening above and below the snow and ice. This will inspire local youth to feel connected with the environment around them and be empowered to become environmental stewards,” said the release accompanying the grant announcement.

Southern Frontenac Community Services is receiving $3,658 for a professional 10 quart mixer to go in the commercial kitchen at the Grace Centre. The mixer will be used for the meals on wheels program that delivers 150 hot meals a week to seniors in the community, as well as to broaden the meal variety for Adult Day Program clients. SFCS is also considering expanding their Meals on Wheels program and the mixer will help them move closer to doing that,.

The group that has been working to develop a community recreation and cultural centre at the former Hinchinbrooke School in Parham, received a grant from the foundation last year to help them fund a feasibility study for the project. This year they are receiving a grant of $2,597 to recruit new partners to develop a multi-stage business plan for the project.

Finally, Rural Frontenac Community Services is receiving $8825 for the popular “Let’s Get Drumming” youth program. The project is active in North, Central and South Frontenac, “addressing the need for free, fun musical activities that encourages rural youth to learn an instrument, be active and connect with a group in their own community in a fun environment that promotes inclusion,” according to the release.

The total dollar value of the 5 grants, $28,184, represents about 20% of the $150,000 that was handed out by the CFGK this week.

Details on the Foundation’s Community Grants program and the projects they have funded can be found on their website at www.cfka.org.

You know Christmas is coming when you can smell a variety of flavours coming out of the Grace Centre in Sydenham on a Saturday afternoon in late November.

And this year is no exception as Leslie Reade and Josey Steel once again organized Vision Soup, a community fundraiser which is a joint project for the Christmas Food Basket, Loughborough Emergency Relief Fun and Southern Frontenac Community Services.

This year was the 12th annual and very little has changed from the first one Reade and Steel organized.

For $20, you choose a handmade bowl donated by local potters and fill it with a variety of soups. When you’ve had your fill, you get to keep the bowl.

“Well, the one thing that’s changed a little is that I think we get a little more support every year,” said Reade. “I think this is the most variety of soups we’ve had, 21, everything from spicy Thai soup to chicken Noodle (and in between there were things like Italian wedding and coconut curry lentil).”

The weather wasn’t especially great but there was a lineup into the parking lot when the doors opened and every seat was filled within minutes.

“People are such good sports,” Reade said. “No, it’s not a nice day but we appreciate everyone coming out, including the volunteers, who are mostly friends and family.”

Reade said this is a strong community but there are some who need a little help at Christmas time.

“That’s why we started this in the first place,” she said. “And we’re very thankful for the community’s support.”