Ed Asselstine ran the Verona Car Show for 20 years, as part of the Cattail Festival. Two years ago he started looking around for someone to replace him at the helm because he was finding it to be too much of a burden.

He approached John and Carol Nizman from Last Chance Auto Restore in Yarker to see if they would like to take over.

“Ed thought that because we are in the restoration business for vintage vehicles we would have the right kind of connections to run a car show and it would be a good fit for our business. At first we said no, because we were too busy, but when he came to us again last fall he said that he was going to close the show if no one took over,” said a tired John Nizman from his shop early this week.

What the Nizmans found out shortly after was that the Cattail Festival was going to close and if the car show ended as well, the Verona Community Association (VCA) would lose its major fundraiser of the year.

The VCA runs the Christmas For Kids Program in Verona and the surrounding region, Music in the Park and a number of other programs. Without a major fund raising event each summer, some of that programming might have to cease.

“We decided that it was an opportunity to make the car show a premier event for the region and it could keep the VCA in full operation if successful,” he said.

Although there have been some bumps in the road in the transition from a weekend music and community festival to a single-themed one-day car show, the scale of the resulting event was beyond what anyone ever expected.

The show had a theme, Las Vegas, and in order to entice owners of vintage cars to attend the festival, the Nizmans arranged for a trip to Las Vegas to be a draw prize for those who registered for the show. A second prize of a $3,500 tool kit added to the appeal.

As the day of the show drew near, John Nizman said that he was getting a feeling that attendance would be better than originally anticipated.

“I went to Chet Babcock [one of the VCA board members] and asked him to cut the grass in an extra field near the Lions Hall just in case we needed more space. Thank goodness we did that, because the grounds were full and we used all the parking we had available to us.”

In the end, 264 classic cars registered for the show, plus there were another 20, who did not want to enter the draws and just donated money instead of registering.

There was a wide variety of cars and at least of few of them were rare enough to be valued over $200,000. Cars came from local enthusiasts as well as from Peterborough, Trenton, Belleville, Brockville and beyond.

About 500 people came to see the cars and all told close to a 1,000 people were milling about the site, listening to Elvis Tribute Artist Berry Chumley from Belleville, enjoying the sunny weather, food from the canteen, and vendors’ displays of local crafts and automotive accessories - in short, generally having a good time.

“It was phenomenal,” Nizman said. “People came from the local community and there were others who came from outside the region. Hopefully the local businesses saw an increase in traffic.”

The trip to Las Vegas went to a couple from Belleville.

“They said they had missed a show last week, and only decided to come to Verona the day before the show. They didn't even know about the draw for the Vegas trip,” he said.

The winner of the toolkit, which is a 2nd edition Mustang Toolkit and box, happens to own a Mustang Shelby GT.

With the success of the event, the Verona Community Association is committed to continuing its regular programming for another year.

As far as next year is concerned, the car show faces the same obstacles that the Cattail Festival faced. There is always a need for volunteers in advance of an event to seek out sponsors and do other work, and in the run-up to the event there is a need for time commitments at the site and in the community.

“I'm hoping that with the success this year, people will step up to help carry the ball for next year and beyond,” said John Nizman. “I think we've shown that this can work, and the classic car owners seem to love it. Hopefully people will step forward to make sure it happens again.”

“Interconnection” (Photo left) was the title of one of the works by artist Havery Shultz at the Sawmill Art Exhibit in Verona on August 6 & 7. It is a vibrantly painted depiction on the tree of life theme showing a strongly rooted tree on a background of fire-like swirls. The trunk of the tree has many off shoots, symbolic of health and growth, while the crown of the tree shows a pair of hands clasping in a shelter shape, depicting the strength of interconnection. This intensely personal painting just came to Shultz as she was painting.

Coincidentally the painting could not have done a better job of depicting the devoted energies of all the exhibitors in this century-old, awe-inspiring historic building in Verona, which once was a sawmill. Their joint involvement for four years now has conspired to create this impressive show of talent, which is so worthy of a visit by residents and visitors alike.

While raising a young family in Verona, Shultz is valiantly putting her art talents to work. Thankfully she has a good team of supporters in her husband, Piotr Rauchfleisch, and her mother, Deborah Shultz. Piotr is uniquely positioned to aid his wife, as he is an entrepreneur himself, with an Ottawa marketing business named Media Mall, and her mother Deborah is a helpful, fun and entertaining show assistant.

As a previous student of the Ontario College of Art, Havery Shultz shows a willingness to work in various mediums. Her current artistic leanings are toward larger custom designs and installations incorporating delicate wood burning and acrylic paint, which are finished with clear lacquer for durability. She can be reached for consultation at her website: haveryshultz.com or by email at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Further examples of the power of interconnection were evidenced by the offering up by Judy Skeggs of the perfect venue: her historic sawmill property at 6037A Verona St. Her beautifully crafted quilts were hung on display at the far end of the long, airy sawmill space. This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Tracy and Sharon of Water’s Edge Pottery also assisted in the organization of the art show and fielded calls regarding the event. They can be thanked for the addition of easily spotted balloons attached to the show signage, which helped those of us less familiar with the locale. These women do not mind sharing their talents either, as they offer afternoon or evening workshops, weekend and long retreats. Contact them for details at watersedgepottery.ca or (613) 375-8343.

Other equally impressive artists at the show included landscape and portrait artist Elaine Farragher (www.farragher.ca); Jayne Negus, This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.; David Gilmore; and Jill Harris, plus artists from the Kingston artists’ center The Mess. There was also chainmail jewelry by Bill Anderson of Verona; copper jewelry by Carolyn Bloye; knitting and spinning by Gina Ritchie; and quilts by Victoria’s Quilts, the organization that makes quilts for cancer patients.  

The Verona Car Show has a much higher profile this year than it has ever had before because, for the first time, it is being held as a stand-alone event.

For its first 20 years the show was one of the events in the weekend-long Verona Festival, but since the festival was closed down this winter because too many of its core volunteers were stepping down, the car show is stepping up to become larger and better than ever before.

The car show is also under new management this year, as its founding organizer, Ed Asselstine, has passed the baton after 20 years to co-managers John and Julie Nizman and Adam Asselstine.

When the car show started in 1995 there were about 50 cars on display, and this year organizers are expecting at least 250 cars to attend.

Judges will be giving out awards in 16 categories, including production year-based categories; foreign cars; modified cars in two categories; modified trucks in two categories, and the ultimate award, the Ed Asselstine Best in Show award.

“One of the appeals of this year's show is the fact that for the low entry fee of $10 per entry, owners of vehicles on display will be eligible for a prize draw of a trip to the Mandalay Bay resort and casino in Las Vegas,” said Adam Vandervelde, when interviewed early this week.

The timing of the trip is important for vintage car enthusiasts, because it coincides with the annual Barrett Jackson car auction in Vegas, the largest consignment car auction in the world. The prize package includes tickets to the auction.

“We've been receiving a lot of enquiries from people who are coming to the show because of that grand prize, and we have other prizes as well,” said Vandervelde.

Registering a vehicle for the show can be done online at Veronacarshow.com and can also be done on site between 7 am and 12 noon on show day.

The Verona Car Show is free to the public. There is a Kids' Zone, which includes the Verona Lions' Club mini-put golf course; rides on the express train; balloon animals; face painting and more. The Kids' Zone has a flat fee of $5. There will also be a vendors' village, as well as a canteen available.

In addition to prizes and draws for participating exhibitors, there are draws for the public on tap as well, in addition to a 50/50 draw.

All proceeds from the Verona Car Show will go to the Verona Community Association, which puts all the money it raises back into the community through: Christmas in the Village; Christmas for Kids; the annual Flower Barrel contest; Music in the Park; the Verona information kiosk; and road signage at both ends of the village.

For further information, go to Veronacarshow.com or email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

Letter from the Publisher

The summer season is a crucial part of the year for all the businesses that are the lifeblood of our communities. This week, I've been calling many of the business owners that we deal with on a regular basis to ask them for help.

There is a good possibility that this will be the last Frontenac News that readers will receive in their mailboxes for a while, as Canada Post and two of the bargaining units with the Canadian Union of Postal Workers are at an impasse in negotiating a contract.

As of this coming Saturday, July 2, the union will be in a legal strike position. What will result is anyone's guess. It could be a contract; the union may launch a strike; or Canada Post might lock them out.

We distribute 9214 copies of the Frontenac News through Canada Post each week, to the far corners of Frontenac County, Addington Highlands and western Lanark County. On some weeks, we distribute an extra 2920 papers to the Inverary and Perth Road regions. While this is an expensive way to distribute newspapers, in our experience it is the only way to reach all the hamlets and back roads properties in the region. For us to set up our own distribution system would be [prohibitively?] expensive and would also be difficult to monitor effectively.

So, as we face a shut down at Canada Post, we’ve been on the phone to ask for help.

Thankfully, all the businesses we approached have been understanding, and below is a list of locations that have been lined up as of early this week. We will expand our distribution further as we contact more businesses but you can count on the ones listed here to have the Frontenac News available for free every Thursday until Canada Post is back up and running.

DISTRIBUTION POINTS:

• KINGSTON FRONTENAC PUBLIC LIBRARY branches during open hours – Sydenham, Hartington, Sharbot Lake, Parham, Arden, Mountain Grove, Plevna, and Cloyne.

• TOWNSHIP OFFICES for Addington Highlands (Flinton Recreation Centre – basement), North Frontenac (Road 506 between Ardoch and Plevna), Central Frontenac (Sharbot Lake), and South Frontenac (Sydenham)

• RETAIL OUTLETS -

• Denbigh – Glaeser's General Store

• Cloyne/Northbrook – Nowell Motors, Grand's Store, Bishop Lake Outdoor Centre, Hook's, Yourway, Northbrook Gas and Variety, Northbrook Foodland, Addison's Restaurant

• Kaladar – Kaladar Shell

• Plevna – North of 7

• Ompah – Palmerston Lake Marina

• Arden – Arden Batik?

• Sharbot Lake – Petrocan, Ram's Esso, Mike Dean's Superstore, Pharmasave, St. Lawrence College Employment Centre, Cardinal Cafe, Maples?, Sharbot Lake Country Inn, and our own office at 1095 Garrett St., rear building.

• Parham – Parham General Store

• Godfrey – Godfrey General Store

• Verona – Asselstine Hardware, Verona Hardware, Food Less Traveled, Nicole's Gifts, Verona Foodland

• Hartington - Leonard Fuels

• Harrowsmith – Gilmour's on 38, The Pizza Place

• Sydenham – Sydenham One Stop, Trousdale's Foodland ?

We are also constructing some special temporary boxes, which will be located at roadside postal locations, such as the Snow Road Community Centre, the Mountain Grove Library (outside), the Arden Post Office, etc.

Also, readers can always read the articles online at frontenacnews.ca and at that site can also access a flash version of our paper that is a .pdf copy of the newsprint version that comes to your door each week under normal circumstances.

If there is a strike, this distribution system will remain in place for at least the July 7 and 14 editions. If there is a stoppage that extends beyond mid-July, we will take stock of the success of our system and may consider changes.

We thank our readers in advance for their patience, and hope that those who enjoy the Frontenac News each week will be able to continue to do so next week.

Last Friday the students of Prince Charles Public School, Verona, gathered for the dedication of a maple tree donated and planted by the Parents’ Council of Prince Charles, in memory of three former students who had died under tragic circumstances within the past year.

Nicky Gowdy, chair of the Parents’ Council, spoke warmly of the three individuals: Kevin Grant who loved his farm, family and fishing; Jen Rose Duffy, athletic spitfire and popular bus monitor, and Brian James, “BJ”, a person with a great zest for life who was fascinated by all motorized vehicles.

Representatives from the bereaved families then each tied a memorial yellow ribbon around the tree: Brody Badour, for Kevin; John Morey, for BJ; and Dacota Duffy for Jem.

Friends, community members, and three generations of Revells gathered on June 17 at Revell Ford in Verona to celebrate the business’ 80 year anniversary.

Like a miniature festival, the event featured food, live music, face-painting, and displays. Lineups for burgers, provided by the Verona Lions Club, twisted around a group of classic Fords that were parked out front. After everyone had eaten their fill, the music ended, and the microphone was handed off for speeches.

Mayor Vandewal was up first to congratulate the business on 80 years of success, and to thank them for their contribution to the community, pointing out Revell Ford is “the largest private employer in South Frontenac.”

Former Ottawa Senator Rick Smith was on hand signing autographs as part of the festivities. He and Councillor McDougall then presented a plaque to owner Larry Revell, the third generation from his family to work at Revell's. Larry sold cars in his younger years at the business, and now works as a general manager. Over the course of the festivities he was on the move, making sure everyone was where they needed to be, and shaking hands on the way. Perhaps it’s due to years of practice hosting anniversaries, but Larry’s speech was refreshingly brief.

“I have enjoyed working alongside my father and brother, and am proud to have anoher generation of our family working here. Thanks Nate, Josh, and Brad. I thank God for my grandfather’s vision, my father’s integrity, and for his blessing upon this dealership. Special thanks to all employees. We have a great team here.”

After a few more speeches, and the gift of a lovely Ford-themed quilt to Larry’s father, Harry, things settled down a bit and the crowd slowly dispersed.

In this quieter setting, Larry gave some insight into how he’d like the business to continue, as his sons and nephew become part the family business, “My father’s been a man of integrity, honest with people, so we want to follow in his footsteps: carry on the tradition; treat people fair. We want to be fair with our employees too; without them we wouldn’t be here.”

Canada Day is on a Friday this year, so July 2 is a big day for events as well. Not only will the farmers' markets in Verona, Sharbot Lake and McDonalds Corners be open for business as usual, there are many other events scheduled as well.

On the grounds of the Crow Lake Schoolhouse in Crow Lake Village, Primitive Catering is hosting a new event, Lost Trades and Handmades, which is billed as a “gathering of the finest food and products created by hand.”

Dean Fredette, one the principals at Primitive Catering, describes the event as a tribute to the skills of traditional crafters, whether they work with fabric, metal, in the garden or in the kitchen.

Fredette sees an appetite for products that are made by hand by skilled people, and while Primitive Catering is a food company, the same kind of commitment to function and aesthetics is found in a skewer of meat barbequed on an open fire as in the production of fine knives, baskets or any other artisanal product.

In addition to fine food sizzling on the fire pit there will be music by ALAN BRIAN, Alan Kitching on saxophone and clarinet and Brian Roche on guitar and vocals; knives made by Brian Connolly; the Enright Cattle Company; St. Paul United Church Quilts; Dragonfly Herbs; basketmaking demonstrations by Jule Koch; preserves, baked goods, a book sale, and more. The event runs from 12 noon to 7pm.

Meanwhile, 10 kilometres north of Highway 7 on Road 509, down the Gully Road in Mississippi Station, the long-awaited grand opening of the Back Forty Cheese Creamery and Bakeshop will take place from 10 am to 4 pm.

The new home of Back Forty Cheese is on an old farmstead on the Mississippi River. The large drive shed near the farmhouse has been converted into a cheese factory, with an adjoining retail space. Upstairs there is a loft space that is a screen printing studio.

Jenna Fenwick, who runs Jenna Rose Screen printing, and Jeff Fenwick, who makes Back Forty Sheep's milk cheese, have been working on the shed, establishing gardens and feeding a drove of young Berkshire pigs with the whey from the factory.

“We thought it would be nice, in this new location, to set up a storefront that we can open on Saturdays throughout the summer, to let people see how the cheese is made, and all the related activities that make for a sustainable operation,” said Jeff about setting up the shop. “We will be holding tours of the cheese factory and the grounds, and we are having some friends join us as well.”

In addition to five Back Forty cheeses – Flower Station, Bonnechere, Highland Blue, Madawaska, and the newest Back Forty Cheese, Ompah, there will be some fresh cheese available on the 2nd.

Mike McKenzie of Seed to Sausage will be on the barbeque, grilling sausages, and providing meat for Charcuterie plates.

Thanks to a special occasions permit, Stalwart Brewing from Carleton Place will be on hand, serving some of their popular brews plus a new summer beer, which is appropriately named Down by River. Three Dog Winery from Prince Edward County as well as MacKinnon Brothers from Bath will also be represented.

Black Kettle Catering is bringing their popcorn.

And to wash all that food and drink down, Elphin's own Joey Wright, fresh from a year in the countryside near Avignon, no doubt drinking too much Rhone and Rousillon Valley wines and eating much too well, will be performing on guitar, mandolin and banjo.

Prince Charles Public School in Verona held their 8th annual Relay for Life fund-raising event last Friday, June 10, under the brilliant late spring sunshine.

Cam Whalen, who co-ordinates student relay events for the Canadian Cancer Society in eastern Ontario, was on hand for the opening of the event.

He said that Prince Charles is one of only two elementary schools in the entire region that holds an event, along with Winston Churchill in Kingston.

He told the students that over eight years they have raised over $15,000 to go towards cancer research.

“While it takes millions to find a cure, sometimes small grants have big results,” he said, and talked about a new treatment that will soon be available that uses a virus that eats cancer cells but is benign otherwise.

“The original grant for that project was for $25,000,” he said, “so the money you have raised really does lead to cures.”

Prince Charles principal, Peter Dendy, said that at the kickoff assembly for relay this year, before the pledge sheets were handed out and students were told how to go about getting sponsors, he asked the students to raise their hands if they knew of anyone in their family who had been affected by cancer.

“Ninety-five percent of you raised your hands,” he told the students, “so you all know what this is about.”

Before the students started to walk around the school’s track for the afternoon, a Survivors’ lap was completed by Joyce Dendy, Peter's mother, and Doug McIntyre, who is a very popular crossing guard at Prince Charles.

The students all joined in after the first lap. Over 100 students participated in the rally.

The tally of the amount raised has not been completed yet, but will be available within a week.

South Frontenac Rides held their second annual Tour de South Frontenac event at Prince Charles Public School in Verona on Sunday. Although the event was affected by the weather, a good number of cyclists took advantage of the safety clinic for youth, the hands-on bike maintenance workshop that was put on by Yellow Bike Action, and the free burgers, hot dogs and drinks that were prepared by volunteers.

Yellow Bike Action is a Kingston-based not for profit, which has a storefront on York Street in Kingston. It is dedicated to restoring and recycling bicycles and helping people learn how to keep their bicycles in good repair. They can be reached at 613-545-0404 or This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

The Tour was the occasion of the launch of South Frontenac Cycling Routes. The map marks out 12 routes, which range in distance from the short and sweet 13 km Sydenham Village Route to the 104 km Crow Lake Route, which includes Crow Lake Road in its entirety, including the very hilly part, and the picturesque Westport Road. Some of the routes on the map were developed by South Frontenac Rides last year, and some are new, including a couple that are part of the Frontenac Arch Biosphere (FAB) mapping.

In addition to the paper maps, the map is available at http://frontenacmaps.ca/sfcycling

The Frontenac Municipal Information Services department designed the map using the latest Geographical Information System (GIS) technology. “This new cycling map is part of an ongoing collaboration to make the wonderful natural spaces in our township more accessible to residents and visitors,” said South Frontenac Rides volunteer and Township of South Frontenac Councilor Ross Sutherland.

The web version of the map will be accessible as riders tour the routes through its mobile version.

“Using ArcGIS Online cloud technology that we host on our own county servers made this application useable across most devices and platforms,” said Kevin Farrell, GIS Specialist for Frontenac County and lead developer of the map.

“It is nice to know we jointly developed this application and that people who are out on their bikes can just pull out their phone and see where they are on the route they choose,” he said.

However, cyclists should also consider carrying a paper version as there are cellular dead zones in rural areas. The map is available at locations in the township, including the township office in Sydenham.

South Frontenac Rides is also participating in an initiative aimed at determining alternative means of commuting for South Frontenac residents.

Dr. Laurel Dempsey came to Verona in the mid-1990s from Toronto. She was interested in primary care and community-based medicine and wanted to participate in what she describes as the “first iteration of primary care reform in Ontario”.

Doctor Gordon Day was getting ready to retire from his practice in Verona at the time, and the two worked together for five years until Dr. Dempsey took over the practice, and bought the clinic building in the year 2000.

Since then she has not only run the clinic and served the large rural practice, which had been established since the early 1960s, she has also been the lead physician for the Rural Kingston Family Health Organisation (FHO). The Rural Kingston FHO is made up of all the primary care providers in Frontenac and rural L&A counties, including the physician-run clinics in Sydenham, Verona, Tamworth, and Newburgh, and the family health teams in Sharbot Lake and Northbrook.

“The idea behind the family health organisation was to offer a solid family medicine base for rural residents, with the addition of other services,” she said.

As the result of the FHO, dietician, psychiatric, dermatology, and even cardiac services have been offered at the Verona clinic and at other locations in Frontenac and Lennox and Addington.

Lynn Wilson, who has been the administrator of both the Verona Clinic and the FHO, has also managed an initiative called Health Links. Health Links targets the most medically vulnerable population, has also been established in the two counties.

But for her patients, Doctor Dempsey has always been someone who understood rural practice. When she took over from Dr. Day, she continued to put in long hours, and quietly made home visits to some of her very ill patients.

“She has been such an open and welcoming person, and from the start her relationship to the community and to her patients has been a warm one,” said John McDougall, who is a patient of hers and was one of the founders of the Verona Medical Services Committee. The committee now acts as a liaison between the clinic and the Township of South Frontenac.

The relationship between the clinic and the township was also an offshoot of Dr. Dempsey's efforts. She went to the Verona Community Association 10 years ago to talk about the future, envisioning back then that things would need to change in order to ensure the future of primary care in Verona upon her retirement.

Two of the issues that needed to be worked on were physician recruitment and the related issue of the ownership of the building where the Verona Medical Clinic is located.

“Doctor Dempsey told us, and this was confirmed when we went to meet with medical students to try and sell them on Verona, that the new generation of doctors did not want to take on the financial or administrative burden of owning buildings, so we went to the township and they were willing to take ownership of the building, which was very important,” said McDougall.

The clinic has been able to recruit two doctors over the past five years: Doctor Oglaza, who is about to do a residency in public health, and Doctor Gibbons, who will be taking over as lead physician at the clinic next month as Dr. Dempsey is retiring.

“One thing our patients need to know is that they have to register with Doctor Gibbons,” said Doctor Dempsey, “but patients don't need to worry that they are losing services, as she will take all of my patients on.”

An Open House is set for this Saturday, May 28 at the Verona Lions Hall between 2 and 4pm for the community to express their appreciation for the 21 years of service Dr. Dempsey has given to the community, and there will be a dinner later on. For tickets to the dinner, contact the Lions.

As for Doctor Dempsey, she may be retiring from her full-time practice but she will be continuing to work in Verona and at some other clinics on a more casual basis. A commitment to family medicine is not something that is turned off when doctors reach the so-called retirement age.

“She has always been committed to reform but is also a link to the way medicine was practised in the past,” said John McDougall. “She certainly has done well by us in Verona over the years.”