It finally is the end of 2014—a year that most of us would like to forget. The snow piled high and everyone’s snowblower had a long seasonal workout last winter. In fact, the district had one of its highest snowfalls ever recorded. The cold winter began shortly after Remembrance Day […]
Jim Cumming – From the Publisher Emeritus’ Pen
Jim is the former publisher of the Fort Frances Times Ltd. He writes a weekly column and can be contacted at jcumming@fortfrances.com
As I sat down to write this column, I wondered to myself if all my electronic gadgets were dumbing me down or making me smarter. The more I have read, the more confused I’ve become. I remember Mrs. Benson, my Grade 1 teacher, having special books for us to practice […]
Dear Santa: I am writing this letter on behalf of many important people who probably would like to believe in you but somehow feel it below their dignity to write. Our premier, Kathleen Wynne, has had a lot of grief since taking over leadership of the Liberal Party of Ontario. […]
In the summer when I fly to Toronto or Calgary, on a clear day I can look out the airplane window and marvel at the patchwork quilt of crops below me. I have flown to Calgary and, looking down, have marveled at the brilliant yellow canola plants right up next […]
I like the lights of the Christmas season and especially enjoy the variety of styles that people use to decorate their yards. I hope we have enough snow to cover the leaves and brown grass, but not too much to bury the lights in the yard. Before the new LED […]
How much are economic barriers between provinces affecting us. If you want to buy a French wine at the LCBO here, there is little problem beyond ordering it in. However, try to get a Merlot out of British Columbia and the task becomes impossible. Ontario would much rather import wines […]
It is a magical transformation. One day our stores are dressed in Remembrance. The next day stores metamorphoses to Christmas. Garlands and lights surround windows. Christmas banners hang from ceilings directing shoppers to Christmas specials. Christmas music plays in the background. Suddenly Christmas bazaars and teas are flourishing throughout the […]
In Grade 8, our classroom teacher, Claude Stewart, challenged the class to learn great pieces of poetry. By the end of the year, our class could recite from memory more than 30 different pieces. I can’t remember them all but the piece by John McCrae still rings true in my […]
The plane was quiet on the trip home from Toronto. The reality was setting in. The adrenalin that coursed through the veins of the district delegates for a day-and-a-half had dissolved. The delegation had made its case to transfer the Crossroute Forest away from Resolute. The two opposition parties, meanwhile, […]
How much freedom should we relinquish following the two attacks on soldiers in Montreal and Ottawa last week. The House of Commons always has been known as the place where the people could be heard and the people of Canada could watch their elected officials participate in shaping the country. […]
An old friend explained to me that growing up in Fort Frances was the most fortunate thing that happened to him in his education. I hadn’t given much thought to growing up in a rural area of Ontario before. But in his telling of the things we learn in our […]
I have been travelling the last six days—firstly across North Dakota and Montana along Highway 2 to Shelby, and then back east on the Trans-Canada. On both routes, you travel at 118 km/h so you do make good time. The travel distance to Calgary is very similar. The highways are […]
