Daytripping Issue - Summer 2020

Lake Huron
MI
ONTARIO
NY
From Elgin County to Oxford County and TILLSONBURG
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TILLSONBURG
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6 OLD VIENNA RD, TILLSONBURG • 519-688-7770
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Publisher’s note: This is an excerpt
of a Facebook post on May 20, 2020 by
Brenda Smith of Pinecroft, one of the most
amazing destinations in our region. Their
restaurant patio is open as of this printing
on July 9th, but it speaks volumes about
what many businesses were fearing at the
height of the quarantine in Ontario. I think
most of you understand the importance of
shopping local, and I thank you on behalf
of all my customers, but please relax for a
moment to read this inspiring letter.
First of all I want to recognize the
severity of COVID-19, the sacrifice of all
the frontline workers and the tragedy of
each and every life lost to this terrible
situation. It is impossible to forget on
a daily basis what we face as we are
constantly presented with COVID-19
news, updates, protocols and warnings.
I want to let you in on the thoughts that
occupy my mind on a daily basis.
On March 17th when we were given
the order to close our restaurant and
gift shop, we were not concerned about
the viability of our business and quickly
closed down to help flatten the curve. We
initiated some needed maintenance in
anticipation of reopening in 14 days, but
those initial 14 days now have gone on
to more than 60 days. While we are still
in a viable position and look forward to
reopening we realize that another long
stretch of closure would be too much to
bear. We are in a better position than a lot
of restaurants. In an open letter yesterday
from Shanna Munro, President and CEO
of Restaurants Canada, she states that
1 out of 10 restaurants have already
permanently closed and that 1 out of 2
independent restaurants does not expect
to survive the COVID-19 shutdown.
Independent restaurants are truly an
important part of our culture and will
ANNANDALE
NATIONAL HISTORIC SITE
Show Them Your Support!
By Brenda Smith, Pinecroft Gallery & Gift Shop, Aylmer
be a fixture of our day to day life that
will certainly be missed if they fall to the
wayside, as they represent the colour and
culture and diversity of life in Canada.
Our Green Frog Tearoom is an
important part of what Pinecroft is
and is one part of our family business.
It has sustained us through many
difficult financial times when we have
experienced recessions and down turns
in our economy. Eating out has always
been a way to treat ourselves when
times are bad. COVID-19 has changed
everything and now that is not the case.
Our family has spent 72 years building
our business, supporting our community,
welcoming visitors from across the
country and the world and showcasing
what Elgin County has to offer. We are
just one of many businesses who have
and want to continue to do that.
Please remember the independents
when this is all over, please remember
to support all your local businesses,
whatever they may
be, and remember
that behind every door
front are families who
have just hung on to be
there when given the
word to open. These
businesses are the
backbone of our society
and they are fighting to
keep our lifestyle and
communities vibrant.
I think one of the
greatest fears is that
the paradigm shift we
are going through is
THE PRATT GALLERY HAS REOPENED
Annandale
National Historic Site &
Stationhouse Quilters & Fibre Artists:
Piecing Together the
Past and Present:
A Collaborative
Quilt Show for 2020
10 MODERN & 10 HISTORIC QUILTS
By Appointment 519-842-2294
Mon-Fri 9-3 (45 min on the hour)
Through August 31
Pratt Gallery
The historic house currently closed. See website for updates.
30 Tillson Ave, TILLSONBURG • pphelps@tillsonburg.ca www.tillsonburg.ca
going to make society too comfortable
and submissive to the tech world of
online business and that hometown
independents will be washed away
in a tsunami of
indifference. We
need more choices
than the paved acres
of the big box malls
that look the same
from Halifax to
Vancouver and even across the face of
North America. We need to see the faces
and hearts of the communities that make
our country so fabulous.
Every day we have a meeting to see
where we stand and how we can move
forward. We deal with depression, anxiety
and heart break and we question whether
today is the day we decide to retire, but
we also realize that we are the income
source for our four immediate families
and giving up is not an option. We are
not alone. There are tens of thousands of
...hometown independents
will be washed away in a
tsunami of indifference
families like ours going through the same
financial and emotional turmoil and I
hope that they can find peace of mind
and hope in the future.
We are in this together, but it is
consumers who will dictate what the
outcome will look like and what the
future of small towns and independent
businesses will look
like. If you like what
you see when you
go to your town to
shop, to have your
hair done, to go to
the gym, to engage
in service businesses, and if you like the
variety and feel that your town gives you,
then please consider returning to these
stores and businesses to shop as soon
as they are allowed to open. Welcome
them back and don’t make them engage
in a new battle alone against mounting
debt, the fight for market share and fear
generated by health concerns, when
they have just finished waging a war
against the COVID-19 shutdown.
Show them your support with your
buying power and your confidence in a
safe financial future for all of
us by getting out and beating
a path to their store whether
it be only a virtual version at
curb side, online or brick and
mortar.
Our minds are a powerful
tool that we have and very
often what we think about, we
bring about. Let’s not focus on
the negativity in our lives. Let’s
not give COVID-19 any more
energy through our thoughts,
but let us focus on our well
being, our health and a better
future for us all.
SUMMER 2020 “A journey is like marriage. The certain way to be wrong is to think you control it.”— John Steinbeck Page 53