Huron-Perth Boomers Fall 2020

A FREE magazine for adults 50+ 

Fall 2020 — Volume 5, Issue 3 

HEALTH & WELLNESS 

Importance of 

Geriatrics 

A Q+A on extended 

health care for seniors 

HISTORY 

COMMUNITY 

Racism 

in Huron/Perth 

How you can grow to 

become anti-racist 

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FALL 2020 • 3

FROM THE PUBLISHER 

Fall is usually when we visit apple orchards, attend Fall Fairs, cover our outdoor 

plants in preparation for the first frost, get those last rounds of golf in, and even 

start planning where we’ll spend our winters, whether just for a couple of weeks or 

for months at a time. 

This year, obviously, looks a little different due to the upheaval to the norm caused 

by the COVID-19 pandemic. Now we’re preoccupied with buying facemasks, 

restocking hand sanitizer, talking to travel agents about cruise ship refunds, and 

watching the news south of the border with hopes our winter travel plans aren’t a 

long shot at best. Some of our readers may even be looking for a place to live when 

the weather turns cold, as more retirees don’t keep a winter home in Huron/Perth 

anymore, spending the coldest months in a condo or trailer down south, while 

living the cottage life locally during our beautiful summers. 

CONTENTS 

Travel • 6 

History • 12 

Community • 16 

Health & Wellness • 22 

Senior Spotlight • 26 

Recipe • 28 

This isn’t exactly news, but COVID has changed almost every aspect of our 

lives, including here at Huron-Perth Boomers. We still have the same great local 

content, resources and advertisers, but you won’t be able to pick up a copy at the 

dentist’s office, grocery store or pharmacy — instead you can read us anywhere 

and everywhere as we are again exclusively digital. Our user-friendly platform 

allows direct links to all websites, which makes it easy for you to learn more about 

what interests you and to visit our amazing local advertisers (who still need your 

support!). 

While we do hope to return to print soon, in the meantime please like our Facebook 

page and interact with and share our posts, subscribe to our online newsletter, and 

support the advertisers who were able to support us in these difficult times. 

We wish you and your family continued good health 

and hope you can enjoy what our area has at this most 

beautiful time of year — socially distanced, of course! 

Amy Irwin, Publisher 

Huron-Perth Boomers 

FALL 2020 

Publisher 

Amy Irwin 

amy@huronperthboomers.com 

Magazine Design 

Becky Grebenjak 

Huron-Perth Boomers welcomes 

your feedback. 

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DISCOVER THE APARTMENTS AT HARBOUR HILL 

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104 Suncoast Drive East, Goderich • 519-440-0110

TRAVEL 

Coast down 

Costa Rica 

to 

FUN IN THE SUN ON THE ‘RICH COAST’ 

STORY AND PHOTOS BY JILL ELLIS-WORTHINGTON 

6 • HURONPERTHBOOMERS.COM

y Jill Ellis-Worthington 

TRAVEL 

For those of us who live in Canada but long for Julylike 

weather year-round, Mother Nature has an 

answer – Costa Rica. 

It’s a wild, beautiful country where ocean meets beach 

and jungles climb the mountains. Located in Central 

America, between Nicaragua and Panama, the Republic 

of Costa Rica was colonized by the Spanish in the 1600s, 

after Christopher Columbus landed there in 1502. 

A great region to explore on a first visit is the Playa Bejuco 

area, near Jaco and Quepos, on the central west coast. 

These small towns give a taste of local fare and culture, 

and Playa Bejuco is positioned among many recreational 

activities to enjoy between swims. Visitors value pools and 

beaches for relief from temperatures that range between 

30 and 35 C (with high humidity) in the winter months. 

Those wishing to stay anywhere along the coast usually fly 

into San Jose, which is the capital and largest city, hosting 

the more northern of the two international airports in the 

country. A two-hour ride through the mountains to the 

coast provides a breathtaking introduction to the scenery. 

You’ll experience the rugged mountains and the more 

rugged roads that transverse them. National Highway 34 

is a paved, well-kept, two- and sometimes four-lane road 

that takes you from the airport to Playa Bejuco, but many 

are gravel and very rough because of the heavy summer 

rains. Be warned if you are renting a car, local drivers 

often pass on hills and curves without warning, making 

driving a nerve-wracking prospect at times. 

Since it’s located near the equator, Costa Rica experiences 

almost the same amount of dark and light each day. The 

sun usually rises around 6 a.m. and sets around 6 p.m. 

This causes many visitors to readjust their internal clocks, 

which is fortunate because the coolest part of the day is 

right around dawn – a wonderful time to take a walk or 

take care of any strenuous activities. So, going to bed 

around 9 p.m. and rising at 5 a.m. is something that many 

visitors (and expats living there) commonly experience. 

Left: Costa Rica is a mountainous country. 

Above: Walking through Carara National 

Park reveals a plethora of interesting flora 

and fauna. 

Bottom: Seeing red macaws flying is always 

a thrill. 

The day is marked by the sunrise/sunset routine. 

Grabbing a chair or blanket and heading to the beach 

to enjoy the sunset, before going back to the lodgings for 

dinner, is a daily treat. The sun setting over the Pacific is 

a truly spectacular site. 


TRAVEL 

by Jill Ellis-Worthington 

Above: The El Avion Restaurant was featured in 

the Tom Cruise movie ‘American Made.’ 

Top right: Iguana Chocolate Tour guide 

demonstrates taking chocolate from beans to 

bonbons while expat Fred Vojt looks on. 

Bottom right: From Winnipeg, vacationer Alisha 

MacMillan takes a turn crushing cocoa beans 

while expat Jane Perry David looks on. 



TRAVEL 

Between sun-up and sun-down, there is plenty to do and 

see in the area. In Playa Bejuco, you are equidistance from 

two great hiking opportunities. An hour’s drive south 

is Manual Antonio National Park and an hour north 

is Carara National Park. At the latter, you have a good 

chance of seeing scarlet macaws, colourful butterflies and 

moths, various types of lizards, tree-climbing ant eaters, 

howler monkeys and agoutis (a long-legged rodent the 

size of a large rabbit). The massive Guanacaste trees 

are stars of the show, and there are myriad of flowering 

plants providing a visual feast. 

If you venture to the former, a drive through the village 

of Manuel Antonio is very enjoyable along the winding, 

mountain roads. Two must-stops in this area are Biesanz 

Beach and El Avion restaurant. The beach is a steep 

climb down a hillside on rough terrain, so not ideal for 

those with bad knees, but it’s very much worth the effort. 

It has gently rolling waves – rather than the crashing surf 

at Playa Bejuco beach, which is ideal for boogie boarding 

On estuary boat tours, 

guides call monkeys 

from the jungles. 


TRAVEL 

by Jill Ellis-Worthington 

or surfing but makes swimming difficult – a beautiful vista 

and rental beach chairs and sunshades. Bring a cooler 

with your drinks and food or buy some from the bar 

there, but be warned it is expensive. 

If you’ve seen the movie American Made with Tom 

Cruise, you might recognize the airplane that forms part 

of the restaurant El Avion. Perched on the edge of the 

mountain high above the ocean, this restaurant offers 

excellent food and drink, complemented by fantastic views 

from every table. Served at this and most restaurants, 

carpaccio de atun roja is a raw tuna dish made with diced 

mango and avocado – so fresh and delicious! 

Head into Quepos for the weekly Friday and Saturday 

mercado (market) to pick up fresh fruit, fish and meat, 

as well as tourist souvenirs. Jaco also has a street full 

of tourist shops. Open air restaurants with luxurious 

gardens line the side streets. Check out Senor Harry’s for 

a cool drink on the shaded patio when you’re doing more 

dropping than shopping. 

Top: Writer Jill Ellis-Worthington (left) and 

expat Colleen O’Brien are ready to zip line. 

Below: Beautiful beaches give way to 

stunning mountains in Costa Rica. 

Adventurous souls will also find their calling in Costa 

Rica. From travelling challenging mountain roads up to 

the organic family-run fruit farm that houses La Iguana 

Chocolate Tours, to traversing the swinging bridges 

at Rainmaker Conservation Project, to taking on 14 

different ziplines at Chiclets Zipline (Hermosa Tours), 

there’s something for all adrenaline junkies. 

The chocolate tour includes a narrative on all aspects of 

growing and harvesting cocoa and the guide shows you 

how to make truffles (to gobble up) from cocoa beans. It is 

hands-on fun that also includes a lunch of authentic area 

cuisine if you choose that option for a small additional 

fee. You may also see scarlet macaws or toucans that 

perch in the fruit trees around the property. 

For both heart-stopping action and heartrending beauty, 

ziplining down a mountain is a real experience. The 

staff at Chiclets is excellent at making sure everyone is 

safe and know how to take on each of the 14 ziplines. 

When landing on the tree-top platforms, you overlook the 

beautiful white sand beaches and emerald jungles that 

rim the sapphire blue ocean. 

Animal lovers will appreciate getting up close and personal


TRAVEL 

Villa Caletas offers diners 

amazing views. 

with the local monkey population on a boat-in monkey 

tour. From the edge of the estuary, you venture forth on 

a canopied flat-bottomed boat at low tide. Guides call 

the Capuchin monkeys from the forest. These friendly 

creatures have soft hands and gently take fruit from you 

and climb over you if you are comfortable with it. 

Finding great food isn’t a problem in this area of Costa 

Rica. At Esterillos town centre, La Rioja Tapas y Vinos 

offers amazing oven-fresh pizza. Thursday night is pasta 

night, featuring a pasta of the day and glass of wine for 

$9 US. Jardines Café is in the same plaza and is a great 

place to enjoy a hearty breakfast. 

Many expats also offer accommodation in this area, and 

these types of arrangements are an affordable option and 

usually include use the community pool in a complex 

or the owner’s private pool, laundry facilities, kitchen 

privileges and/or breakfast included. 

Boutique hotels on the beach are often reasonably priced 

and have restaurants. Larger properties have resort 

amenities, as well as excellent restaurants. Many feature 

lush properties with stunning infinity pools, excellent 

restaurants, spas and some of the most magnificent views 

on the coast because you’re looking at both the ocean and 

the Nicoya Peninsula. 

So when you’re seeking summer during the Canadian 

winter, experience Pura Vida (pure life) in Costa Rica. 

Jill Ellis-Worthington is a writer, editor and communications 

consultant. Visit her online at writeoncommunicationservices.com. 


HISTORY 

CANADA’S 

LANCASTER 

BOMBER 

SECOND WORLD WAR PLANE ONCE HELD A 

PROMINENT PLACE IN GODERICH. BY JOHN MELADY 


y John Melady 

HISTORY 

During the Second World War, on the night of 

June 12, 1944, over Cambrai, France, a Lancaster 

bomber was shot down by a German fighter. 

As it happened, the mid upper-gunner aboard the Lanc 

was Winnipeg-born Andrew Mynarski. When he heard 

the bail-out order, he went to the aid of the rear gunner 

who was trapped in his position. However, when Mynarski 

could not free the man, he was forced to bail because by 

this time, much of the aircraft and his own flight suit were 

both on fire. Before leaving the plane however, he stood 

at attention and saluted the apparently doomed man he 

could not save. Subsequently, Mynarski was found by 

French citizens but soon died of his burns. 

Miraculously, the man he tried to save survived, and 

Mynarski was awarded a posthumous Victoria Cross 

for his bravery that night. Many years later, he and his 

heroism would be remembered again, but in a different 

way. This time, the remembrance had a close connection 

to Huron County. 

For several years, there was a Canadian-built Lancaster 

bomber on a cement pylon in front of the Legion Hall in 

Goderich. The plane was truly a reminder of this nation’s 

contribution to the winning of a terrible war. There 

were 7,377 Lancasters built in Britain and Canada, 

and, while the one in Goderich was not one of them, it 

reminded those who saw it of the thousands of young 

Canadians who perished in the air. The Goderich plane 

was formally dedicated to the memory of Mynarski, but 

then, after much discussion, was removed from its pylon 

in Huron and taken to the Warplane Heritage Museum 

in Hamilton in 1979. 

The trip from Goderich was quite unusual, and the 

transport of the Lancaster was used by the Air Force as 

a training exercise. The plane on the pylon was carefully 

secured for the journey, and then was slung under a 

Chinook helicopter, lifted, and carried to the Hamilton 

site. 

Then, nine years later, after being painstakingly restored, 

the Mynarski Lancaster was made to fly again! The 

occasion of its flight was indeed a day of celebration as 

an estimated 20,000 people were there to watch. They 

came from across Canada and far beyond. 

Author John Melady 

before his flight in 

the Lancaster. 

Today, the Lancaster, as restored, has pride of place 

at the Hamilton museum. It participates in air shows 

across this country, but in 2014 made a truly remarkable 

journey. The plane was flown to Britain in order to linkup 

with the only other operational Lancaster. During that 

summer, the two aircraft were seen together in the skies 

over Britain and their very presence evoked memories 

for many of the war years when these great planes 

participated in bombing Germany and helping to win the 

war against Hitler. Canada’s Mynarski bomber was away 

for seven weeks that year. On the way home it made stops 

in Iceland, Greenland, Labrador and Quebec, and was 

admired in each. 


HISTORY 

by John Melady 

Many people who saw it on that pedestal at Goderich still 

marvel at the size of the plane; it was almost 70 feet long, 

and had a wingspan of over 100 feet, and, because of that 

size, it was capable of carrying the largest bombs. The 

aircraft also had an amazing range for the time – about 

2,500 miles, which enabled it to carry great ordinance 

loads deep into enemy territory before attempting to 

return to the UK. 

Canadians from all over flew in the Lanc during the war, 

including Jake Cornish, of Brucefield, who was attached 

to the Australian Air Force and was the only survivor 

when the plane he was in was shot down over Holland. 

He was 22 at the time. 

The Lancaster was probably the most well-known Allied 

bomber of the Second World War. Its four Merlin engines 

were loved as much for their unique sound as for their 

efficiency. I am lucky enough to have heard them, and 

some time ago was thrilled to fly in the Lancaster during 

an appearance at an Air Force Day at CFB Trenton. I 

recall climbing into the aircraft, and knowing at the time 

that this was the same plane that intrigued so many on 

that pylon at Goderich. I was in the cockpit that day, and 

even had the chance to look out the mid upper-gunner’s 

position on the roof of the plane. However, because of 

cloud cover I was unable to see anything from there. I did 

remember Mynarski and thought of the valiant sacrifice 

he made that night, so many decades ago. 

During the Second World War, the Lancaster was the 

plane that was instrumental in the destruction of the Ruhr 

dams in May 1943. This was the well-known ‘Dambuster’ 

operation. It also participated in the sinking of the great 

German battleship Tirpitz in November 1944. Both feats 

were as extraordinary as they were disheartening for the 

Axis enemy. 


y John Melady 

HISTORY 

In all, there were 430 Lancasters built in Canada, and, 

at its peak, almost one plane a day rolled off the Victory 

Aircraft assembly line in Toronto. At one time, No. 6 group 

of Bomber command flew 13 squadrons of Lancasters 

from various places in England. Sadly, many of them 

never came home from bombing raids to Germany. 

Anyone who flew the Lanc in wartime or since, marvels at 

its ease of handling. This was particularly important in the 

night skies over Europe when no pilot knew of the precise 

danger ahead; when the bomb load being carried was 

great; when everyone on board had to be on the lookout 

for enemy aircraft; or whether or not a crippled Lancaster 

would ever make the trip back to friendly skies again. 

The Mynarski Lanc, as it has been called, was built 

in July 1945. It was then used as a patrol aircraft out 

of Greenwood, Nova Scotia, and then from Torbay, 

Newfoundland, until late-1963, when it was retired 

from the Air Force. And even while the plane no longer 

intrigues observers at the Legion in Goderich, it has since 

become known far and wide as a flying museum piece 

that hopefully lasts a very long time. 

Today, those who see it or fly in it will never forget it. And 

it is not only the aircraft; it is also the memory of Andrew 

Mynarski that is recalled. 

Both deserve to be remembered for generations – whether 

in Goderich or elsewhere. 

John Melady is the author of 13 books and many newspaper and 

magazine articles. He also reviewed books for the Globe & Mail 

for several years. His books are available through Chapters/Indigo, 

Amazon and other bookstores. 


COMMUNITY 

Rural 

racism 

HOW THE MURDER OF GEORGE FLOYD HAS SPARKED 

A LONG-OVERDUE DISCUSSION. BY BEN FORREST 


y Ben Forrest 

COMMUNITY 

On a sunny Saturday in early June, about two weeks 

after the murder of George Floyd at the hands of 

Minnesota police, several dozen people gathered at Milt 

Dunnell Field in St. Marys and marched downtown in 

solidarity with the Black Lives Matter movement. 

They carried signs that said, “Enough is enough,” 

“Racism exists here,” and “Be Anti-Racist,” but were 

mostly silent as passing motorists honked in support. 

When they reached the historic town hall, a late-19th 

Century building made with limestone and red sandstone, 

the group raised their fists and knelt for several minutes to 

protest police brutality and discrimination against Black, 

Indigenous and People of Colour (BIPOC). Then they 

rose to their feet, marched quietly back to the park, and 

went about their business in a world that seemed to be 

rapidly changing around them. 

Similar protests took place across southwestern Ontario, 

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COMMUNITY 

and both police and cultural institutions were forced to 

acknowledge the systemic racism that led to Floyd’s death, 

and the deaths of Ahmaud Arbery, Breonna Taylor, Regis 

Korchinski-Paquet and countless others. 

The Stratford Police Service, which serves St. Marys, 

Perth South and the City of Stratford itself, posted a 

statement to Twitter acknowledging the hurt, anger and 

frustration felt in the community after Floyd’s death. 

“As police officers, we have an obligation to keep our 

community safe, and to do so with fairness, justice, 

respect and equality,” it said. “We know that we are not 

perfect. We know that we need to continuously work with 

our community to make meaningful strides toward longlasting 

change.” 

At the world-renowned Stratford Festival, Black actors 

launched the Twitter hashtag #inthedressingroom to 

share stories about racist behaviour they’ve experienced, 

and the festival temporarily handed over its social media 

feeds to BIPOC artists. 

“As a company we have upheld white supremacy in 

the past,” said Antoni Cimolino, artistic director of the 

festival, and Anita Gaffney, executive director, in a joint 

statement. “It must be dismantled. We are committed 

to using this time to evolve our understanding of equity, 

inclusion, and anti-racism to prepare to celebrate and 

give platform to a more diverse array of voices when we 

return.” 

In a part of the world geographically distant from 

louder, angrier protests south of the border and in larger 

Canadian centres, there was at least some recognition that 

racist behaviour is all too common here, rooted in bigotry 

that stretches back centuries and has never entirely gone 

away. 

“We are heartbroken and angry at the violent anti-Black 

and anti-Indigenous racism we see across Turtle Island,” 

said Cimolino and Gaffney. “We stand in solidarity with 

those demonstrating for justice… Black Lives Matter. 

Today and everyday (sic).” 

What we mean when we talk about racism 

In her book White Fragility: Why it’s so hard for white people 

to talk about racism, the sociologist Robin DiAngelo, who 

is white, challenges the traditional definition of racism. 

While most people think of racism as a synonym for 

prejudice and discrimination, DiAngelo defines it as a 


y Ben Forrest 

system that functions independently of the attitudes and 

self-image of people within that system. 

Prejudice is a prejudgment of another person based on 

the social groups to which the person belongs, she writes. 

This includes the thoughts, feelings, stereotypes, attitudes 

and generalizations that are projected onto everyone 

from that group. 

“All humans have prejudice; we can’t avoid it,” DiAngelo 

says. “People who claim not to be prejudiced are 

demonstrating a profound lack of self-awareness.” 

Discrimination, on the other hand, is action based on 

prejudice. This can include ignoring someone, excluding 

them, making threats, ridiculing them, and acts of 

violence. Again, she argues, everyone discriminates. 

But when a racial group’s prejudice is backed by legal 

authority and institutional control, it becomes racism. 

The same is true of sexism and other forms of oppression. 

DiAngelo uses the example of the women’s suffrage 

movement to illustrate this idea. 

“While women could be prejudiced and discriminate 

against men in individual interactions, women as a group 

could not deny men their civil rights. But men as a group 

could and did deny women their civil rights. Men could 

do so because they controlled all the institutions.” 

Historian Ibram X. Kendi, director of the Antiracist 

Research and Policy Center at American University, 

argues the terms “institutional racism,” “structural 

racism” and “systemic racism” are redundant. 

“Racism itself is institutional, structural, and systemic,” 

he writes. 

Racism in Canada 

In Canada we are as fond of our myths as people in any 

other country. The phrase, “I’m not racist. I’m Canadian!” 

is meant to be funny, and to paint our country as a place 

of inclusive, overly-polite, well-meaning and harmless 

folk who are just killing time between now and their next 

hockey game or pint of beer. 

But scholars are quick to point out that Canada, like 

the U.S., is a product of stolen and colonized land. 

Both countries have been accused of genocide against 

Indigenous Peoples. Although Canada was a destination 

for slaves escaping the U.S. in the 19th Century, 

thousands of Indigenous and Black people were bought, 

sold and inherited as if they were property in Canada. 

Slavery existed in New France in the early-1600s and 

continued for about 200 years, only to morph into various 

government policies, as outlined in stunning detail in 

Robyn Maynard’s book Policing Black Lives: State Violence in 

Canada from Slavery to Present. 

“In Canada we talk a lot about the Underground 

Railroad, Black people escaping slavery and coming to 

Canada,” said Rinaldo Walcott, chair of the Department 

of Sociology and Equity Studies at the University of 

Toronto, in an interview with the CBC. “But we don’t 

also talk about how, after the end of the Civil War in the 

U.S., many of those same Black people went back to the 

U.S. And why did they go back? Because on the other side 

of the border, things were just as bad.” 

In early Canada, a major purpose of the Royal Canadian 

Mounted Police was to suppress Indigenous dissent, and for 

decades the Canadian government uprooted Indigenous 

children from their homes and placed them in Residential 


COMMUNITY 

by Ben Forrest 

As Canadians, we like 

to claim racism only 

exists to the south. 

Our history of slavery 

and colonialism 

proves otherwise. 

Schools where physical and sexual abuse was common. 

The legacy of Residential Schools has been passed down 

for several generations and is still being felt today. 

Canada’s legal system also disproportionately 

incarcerates people who are not white. Black and 

Indigenous people make up nearly 40 per cent of 

Canada’s federal prison population, despite the fact they 

make up less than 10 per cent of the general population, 

a CBC investigation found. 

“We’re literally paying for police officers to brutalize and 

kill us at disproportionate rates,” said Pam Palmater, a 

Mi’kmaq lawyer and Ryerson University professor, in a 

CBC interview. 

The use of racial slurs and stereotypes, off-colour jokes and 

mocking impressions are prejudicial and discriminatory, 

and are rooted in white supremacist beliefs. But some 

scholars argue that being passive in a racist system is a 

form of complicity. As a result, it is not enough to declare 

ourselves “not racist.” We must be anti-racist. 

“You don’t have to be a protester,” said Palmater. “There’s 

a thousand different ways that people can contribute. But 

silence is also violence.” 

Community response 

Although the recent response to racism in Huron and 

Perth is simply the start of a long-overdue conversation 

about race, discrimination and prejudice, there have been 

steps in the right direction. 

The Stratford Festival has announced several measures, 

including sensitivity training for staff, increased funding 

for BIPOC artists, and a commitment to amplify 

marginalized artists through the plays it commissions. 

Both counties have local immigration partnerships 

committed to building welcoming and more inclusive 

communities for newcomers from other countries. 

The Huron Multicultural Festival in Goderich draws 

about 2,500 visitors each year, with performances and 

food from people with cultural roots around the world. 

The Perth-Huron United Way’s Social Research & 


y Ben Forrest 

COMMUNITY 

Planning Council completed a diversity study in 2017 

aimed at attracting newcomers to both communities, 

and, while several cultural events have shifted online due 

to COVID-19 and pernicious attitudes and behaviour 

remain a concern, there appears to be a genuine desire 

for change. 

Anti-racism is active, conscious and ongoing. It requires 

humility, discomfort and hard work by those of us who 

are seen as white, and it requires an awareness of our 

blind spots. It also requires recognizing white privilege 

and using it to change institutions that disadvantage 

people who are not seen as white. 

“We must never consider ourselves finished with our 

learning,” writes DiAngelo. “It is a messy, life-long 

process, but one that is necessary to align my professed 

values with my real actions. It is also deeply compelling 

and transformative.” 

Strategies for combating racism 

Educate yourself. There are dozens of books, movies 

and websites that can teach us about histories, ideas and 

cultures unlike our own. By learning, we gain empathy 

and begin to see a path forward. 

Do the work. You are responsible for your own antiracist 

education. It’s not the responsibility of your 

BIPOC friends, family or community members to bring 

you up to speed. 

Confront racist ideas when you encounter them. 

Being anti-racist means holding your friends, family and 

co-workers accountable. It means speaking up, and not 

being a bystander when racist activity occurs. 

Confront your own prejudices and biases. If 

you recognize racist beliefs or behaviour in yourself, 

acknowledge them and work to eradicate them. 

Understand that everyone is prejudiced and everyone 

discriminates. The goal is continuous improvement. 

Focus on impact, not intent. Many of us, who have 

said ignorant, racist things, do it without meaning to. Our 

hearts are in the right place, and for the most part we 

are not terrible people, but our good intentions do not 

erase the pain we cause. It’s not time for other people to 

toughen up; in most cases we’re the ones who are oversensitive 

when confronted with our racism. We need to be 

more careful about what we say and how we say it, and 

to understand the work of improving ourselves will never 

be complete. 

Demand change and work toward it. Lobby for 

school curriculums that provide a fuller, more honest and 

complete understanding of our history. Challenge your 

MP, your MPP, your municipal leaders and your Prime 

Minister, who have the power to change racist institutions. 

Don’t be content with symbolic measures that acknowledge 

a problem but do nothing to fix them. Apologies are not 

helpful unless they’re met with action. 

Ben Forrest is a freelance writer who lives and works in Exeter, Ont. 

Contact him at ben.r.forrest@gmail.com. 

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Learning 

more about 

Geriatrics 

A Q+A with Dr. Alexandrea Peel on 

the importance of specialized 

Medical Doctors for older adults 

Q: Can you explain your job in laymen’s terms? What 

exactly does a Geriatrician do? 

A: Geriatrician is an internal medicine doctor with additional 

sub-specialty training in caring for older adults with complex 

health care needs and assisting their caregivers with their care. 

Many older persons and their family doctors find that care can 

get fragmented and confusing when they are accessing multiple 

specialists and community agencies for different aspects of their 

care. A Geriatrician tries to look at the person as a whole, to 

create the best recommendations for their medical care based 

on the unique situation and preferences of the older adult and 

their caregiver. 

Dr. Alexandrea Peel, MD, FRCPC 

You need a referral from your family doctor or nurse practitioner 

to see a Geriatrician (just like any other specialist). Geriatricians 

try hard to bring the care closer to your home when required, 

so they will usually offer home visits, virtual visits, and visits to 

long-term care or retirement homes. 



Examples of common reasons to see a Geriatrician 

include multiple interacting health problems, multiple 

hospitalizations or emergency visits, multiple medication 

side effects, falls, memory problems, or trouble managing 

at home. 

Q: You grew up on a farm near Wingham, and 

your husband is from the Lucknow area. Why did 

you choose to return to the community where you 

grew up to practice medicine and raise a family? 

A: Growing up in our rural farming community, I have a 

unique knowledge of the health care needs and challenges 

faced by my friends, neighbours and relatives as they age. 

Being a Geriatrician, I need to understand my patients’ 

context to provide care, so moving home to practice was a 

natural fit for me. 

Despite the large proportion of persons over age 65, 

I was aware of how limited our access to specialized 

medical services designed to assess, diagnose, treat, and 

rehabilitate older adults and support their caregivers. I 

hoped that by moving back, I could provide care to frail 

community members, but also catalyze development of 

a health system that is supportive of older adults’ care 

needs. 

In addition to being a Geriatrician, I am also the mother 

of two little boys (aged 3 and 1) and my spouse also works 

locally The (Bruce Grotto Power). Our families are a tremendous 

support to us and we feel lucky to live in such a beautiful 

part of Ontario and rejoin our community. 

Q: What inspired you to become a Geriatrician, 

and why did you choose to practice this specialty 

in a rural setting? 

A: I had many important experiences that shaped my 

career pathway. I have always had a special connection 

to my grandparents. Their experiences with the health 

care system became the lens for my interaction with my 

patients and families. As a high school and university 

student, I was lucky enough to find health care jobs 

through the Gateway Healthkick summer jobs program. 

Many of these jobs were with older adults. I found many 

Geriatrician mentors during my medical school and 

internal medicine training. I was drawn to the more 

holistic approach in geriatric medicine where you balance 

best practice with the unique care preferences of older 

adults and their families. 

Q: What is your definition of ‘rural?’ Do the 

small towns of Bruce, Grey, Huron, and Perth 

counties qualify, or is it only the outlying areas 

(the farming community)? 

A: Where a Geriatrician works is determined in many 

cases by two factors — available salaried positions, and 

by location of provincially funded specialized geriatric 

service teams (nurses, nurse practitioners, physiotherapists, 

occupational therapists, social workers, pharmacists etc., 

whose positions are funded by the Ministry of Health). 

In our region and many others, salaried positions for 

Geriatricians are only available in urban areas and team 

funding/expertise is largely directed to urban areas. 

Many health regions in Ontario are starting to challenge 

this model by distributing Geriatricians and teams 

throughout their region, to bring care closer to home 

for frail people. Because of these challenges, most 

Geriatricians are not able to start a solo practice in a rural 

area, and the majority are based in tertiary (London) or 

secondary care hospitals. 

I have several colleagues who work in remote centers 

like Thunder Bay and Sudbury, but those are considered 

remote urban areas rather than rural. In our regional 

there are 10 Geriatricians based in London and one 

based in Wingham. 

In our region “urban” is often defined as having a 

population over 10,000 people and other areas are 

defined as rural. 

Q: What are some of the unique challenges older 

people face in rural environments in comparison 

to urban environments? 

A: There are several. Home care delivery in rural areas 

is an impending health crisis in our area. Some rural 

areas have no, or few, nurses or personal support workers 

available to provide care in the home. Existing workers 

must drive long distances in sometimes poor weather to 

provide care to their clients. 

In addition, there is a shortage of affordable housing with 



adequate supports for older adults. Many people move 

to long-term care prematurely, because the waitlists for 

affordable assisted living apartments are years long and 

the cost of retirement homes are prohibitive. 

Social isolation is a huge challenge. Historically, social 

networks were built based on your family and community. 

Demographics have shifted and many older adults living 

in rural areas have lost their local social networks, as 

things move online and friends and children migrate to 

urban areas. 

Affordable, available, and accessible public transportation 

is an ongoing challenge. Gone are the days of a small 

grocery store and hardware store in each hamlet, making 

access to groceries/food increasingly difficult. 

Q: Are there specific health conditions that 

affect rural residents more than their urban 

counterparts? Or is the difference mainly 

complications like isolation and long travel 

times to medical appointments that create 

barriers to care? 

A: I think the answer is likely both. Disparity in health 

outcomes is under investigation by local researchers at 

Gateway Centre of Excellence in Rural Health. Certain 

conditions are more prevalent in Huron/Perth compared 

to other areas such as hypertension, heart disease, and 

diabetes. There are other conditions, including chronic 

lung disease, where our prevalence is similar to other 

areas, but the chance of dying from that condition 

is higher than average. This suggests there are other 

contributing factors that need to be determined. 

Q: What have you learned in your practice 

in Huron/Perth and Grey/Bruce that can be 

applied to other rural areas across Ontario? 

A: I have demonstrated there is a need for and a benefit 

to specialized Geriatric service access in rural areas. I 

hope lessons I have learned in my practice can be applied 

to other remote urban and rural areas. 

Q: As the only rural Geriatrician in 

southwestern Ontario, I imagine your day-today 

responsibilities are demanding. But some 

rural doctors do research and publish studies as 

well. Is this one of your goals? 

A: Great question. People might think that teaching 

students and publishing research is something for doctors 

who have academic salaried jobs in urban centres. Many 

physician colleagues and I, working in Huron/Perth, 

regularly engage in this type of activity. The difference 

is that we are also full-time doctors, so we do much of 

this work after hours, on personal time. I mentor and 

teach Geriatric Medicine residents from Western, and 

Pharmacy students from the University of Waterloo. I am 

also the Chair of Rural Senior Care at Gateway Rural 

Research Institute, where I provide clinical expertise to 

students and academic researchers who are studying the 

specific health needs of rural populations. 

Q: What is the most rewarding part of your job? 

What gets you out of bed in the morning? 

A: There are many rewarding aspects to my job. I love 

being able to sit with a patient and their caregiver and 

look beyond their diseases/symptoms to understand 

them as a person and create a personalized care plan. I 

also find it tremendously rewarding when I hear that a 

patient has met their health goal, and their quality of life 

is restored even in the face of complex health conditions. 

Q: What is the most challenging aspect of your 

job? 

A: I think the most challenging aspect of my job is relative 

imbalance of publicly funded home and community care 

services to allow older adults to live in their own home, as 

well as a shortage of home care workers. Most people tell 

me their first goal is to remain independent and in their 

own home, and failing that their goal is to remain in their 

own home with support. 

The reality is that majority of home care is provided by 

unpaid family members. These caregivers are often times 

a spouse who may also be frail, or a child or grandchild 

who is also working full-time and potentially caring for 

children as well. 

As our system faces a tsunami of aging and frail persons, 

we need to shift our focus from our old model of a health 



care system based around hospital care, to a model based 

on providing care at home and in communities. 

Q: Where do you go from here? What are your 

goals for the year ahead, and perhaps five and 10 

years from now? 

A: In the last five years I have focused a great deal of 

energy into the creation of the South West Frail Senior 

Strategy as a mechanism to make sure that every older 

adult in our region has access to specialized geriatric 

services. In the last year, at the direction of the Ministry 

of Health, we have pivoted to create a Huron Perth 

Ontario Health Team and a Grey Bruce Ontario Health 

Team. I am excited to integrate the principles of the 

Frail Seniors Strategy into our health teams, as we have 

a novel opportunity to make sure the voices of primary, 

community, home, and long-term care are represented at 

the health team table. 

Q: Do you have a bottom-line message for the 

readers of Boomers magazine? What would you 

want them to take away from this article? 

A: Many older adults and their caregivers are coping 

with poor quality of life, and uncontrolled symptoms. 

In the past, local Geriatrics services were understaffed, 

and often impersonal or too slow to respond to care 

needs. Although we are still under-resourced, I continue 

to advocate for expansion of local specialized Geriatric 

services, and integration of Geriatric care principles into 

every aspect of our health care system. 

The referral form for Geriatric consultation can be accessed online 

at https://bit.ly/3gss3nZ and faxed to 519‐685‐4020. If your 

doctor or nurse practitioner requires a telephone consultation please 

call 519-357-2500 or send an e-consult to Dr. Alexandrea Peel 

via the OTNhub. Dr. Peel’s website is drpeel.ca, where you can find 

links to useful resources. 

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COMMUNITY 

Laurie Krempien-Hall, of Stratford, 

knitted sweaters for the movie 

The Lighthouse, which was nominated 

for an Oscar for cinematography. 

Knitting for Hollywood 

STRATFORD KNITTER MADE SWEATERS FOR OSCAR-NOMINATED FILM 

BY ELIZABETH BUNDY-COOPER 

Laurie Krempien-Hall didn’t buy a plane ticket to 

Hollywood back in February, but the small part she 

had in an Oscar-nominated film had her flying high. 

to be shot in Canada. The film, The Lighthouse, features 

well-known actors Willem Dafoe and Robert Pattinson. 

Laurie was over the moon for the opportunity. 

Laurie, who lives in Stratford, is a costume maker for the 

Stratford Festival and is also well-known for her knitting 

skills through her online Etsy account ‘Kreze Knits’ and 

selling at craft shows across the province. 

Her talent to create original, custom-made garments 

without a pattern caught the eye of Canadian production 

designer Linda Muir. Linda contacted Laurie in 2018 to 

ask if she would be able to knit three sweaters for a film 

The Lighthouse went on to win the 2020 award for period 

costume in film from the Canadian Alliance of Film and 

Television Costume Arts and Design, but the more wellknown 

nod was an Academy Award nomination for Best 

Cinematography. 

“I had to knit three sweaters,” Laurie said, “One for each 

of the two lead actors, and one for the stunt double.” 


y Elizabeth Bundy-Cooper 

COMMUNITY 

The production designer gave Laurie ideas about the era 

in which the film takes place, and she did further research 

on fishing and lighthouse keepers’ clothing in the late-19th 

Century. The film is about two lighthouse keepers who 

try to keep their sanity when a storm strands them on a 

remote island. It is set off the coast of Maine, but was shot 

on Cape Forchu, Nova Scotia; it was written and directed 

by Robert Eggers and shot in sepia tone by Jarin Blaschke. 

Dafoe plays Thomas Wake and wears a sweater with a 

ribbed, rolled bib; Pattinson plays Thomas Howard and 

wears a slightly more low-key outfit knit with a ribbed 

collar and ribbed drop-shoulders. Such sweaters were 

worn to protect lighthouse keepers, or ‘wickies,’ from the 

hostile weather conditions. 

The wool for the sweaters, in two different shades, was 

ordered from a supplier in New Brunswick and then 

shipped to Laurie’s Stratford home. 

“I thought I would have a longer time to create the 

pattern and knit them but then I received a panicked 

phone call saying they had to be finished in three weeks,” 

she recalled. 

“I also had to make Dafoe’s sweater reversible. That’s 

what they would have done back then. With limited 

laundry facilities, the wickie had the ability to get more 

wear out of a dirty sweater.” 

The sweaters that Laurie knit needed to relay a lot about 

the characters, said Linda, the costume designer for the 

film, in a phone interview. 

“Her knowledge of the patterns and construction of 

period sweaters was invaluable in translating these 

garments from black and white research photographs 

that I provided her, into costuming that spoke volumes.” 

The sweaters take an interesting procedure before the actors 

wear them. A production designer has to ‘break down’ the 

sweaters in order to make them look old and worn. 

“The salty lighthouse keepers would not have brand-new 

sweaters,” Laurie said. 

To break down the sweater, a production designer uses 

dyes and fabric paints, working them into areas where 

natural wear appears on clothing — necklines, wrists, 

pocket holes, buttonholes, armpits, waistlines and backs. 

These dyes and paints are in colours that correspond to 

the environment — dirt, mud and grass — and they are 

set or fixed to render them permanent so the garments 

may be laundered over the filming period. Then a team 

abrade the sweaters with rasps, dremels, sandpaper and 

pet grooming tools to speed Mother Nature’s job along. 

To further personalize Dafoe’s sweater, an artificially 

mended area at the hemline was also created. As the men 

remain stranded past their four-week allotted time on 

the island, you can practically smell the mould seeping 

into the wool and radiating anguish! Linda said the 

actors loved their sweaters and really made them their 

characters’ own while wearing them during filming. 

“It is quite exciting to see your work on the big screen,” 

she admitted, with a modest smile. “I’m thrilled the film 

had an Oscar nod. I only had a small part in the entire 

production, but it still makes me proud to have been 

involved.” 

One reviewer called it, “The best movie about bad 

roommates ever made.” 

At least they had nice hand-knit sweaters! 

Elizabeth Bundy-Cooper is a freelance writer and a social media 

and website content consultant living in Stratford. She is also the 

volunteer coordinator at the Stratford Perth Museum. 


FOOD & DRINK 

Pumpkin Spice 

C ookies with 

Cream Cheese 

Preparation Time: 20 minutes 

Baking Time: 10 to 12 minutes 

INGREDIENTS 

2½ cups all-purpose flour 

1 tbsp pumpkin pie spice 

1 tsp each of baking soda and baking powder 

½ tsp salt 

¾ cup butter, at room temperature 

¾ cup packed brown sugar 

½ cup granulated sugar 

2 tbsp molasses 

1 egg 

1 cup puréed pumpkin 

½ cup each of raisins and chopped nuts 

FROSTING 

Half pkg (250 g pkg) cream cheese, softened 

1-1/4 cup (300 mL) icing sugar 

Orange food colouring (optional) 

Instructions: 

In bowl, combine flour, pumpkin pie spice, baking soda, baking 

powder and salt; set aside. In large mixer bowl, beat together butter, 

brown sugar, granulated sugar, molasses and egg until light and fluffy. 

Blend in pumpkin. Beat in flour mixture just until combined. Stir in 

raisins and nuts. Drop batter by rounded tablespoonfuls (15 mL) onto 

lightly greased or parchment paper-lined baking sheets. Bake in 350°F 

(180°C) oven for 10 to 12 minutes or until firm to the touch and lightly 

browned. Transfer to racks to let cool. 

Frosting: 

In bowl, beat cream cheese with icing sugar until smooth. Colour with 

food colouring if desired. Spread over tops of cookies. Store cookies in 

covered container in refrigerator (place waxed paper between layers). 

Recipe courtesy Foodland Ontario 


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Huron-Perth Boomers Fall 2020

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