Grey-Bruce Boomers Summer2023

A FREE magazine for adults 50+
SUMMER 2023 — Volume 10, Issue 2
HISTORY
Let’s
dance
Bruce County dance halls
entertained for decades
HEALTH AND WELLNESS
Home takeover
Unwelcome house guests
a rising issue in our region
BUCKET LIST
Reach
for the top
Climbing Scotland’s
‘Three Sisters’
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FROM THE PUBLISHER
Did you know this past winter in Ontario was the darkest in 80 years? The
grey skies seemed to be never-ending, and I can’t specifically recall a day in
the depths of winter when the sun was shining.
Despite the fact we haven’t jumped right from winter to summer – April
threw a true spring at us with a mixed bag of temperatures – I think everyone
in Grey/Bruce will be hoping for a long, hot summer. Having received some
beautiful days early in April and into May, I think we may be on track to
replenish our Vitamin D stores this summer.
We have another fantastic issue planned, this issue being the 9th summer
issue we’ve published since launching in December 2014! Doug Archer
writes in our Bucket List feature about local hikers Ian and Terry Kennedy,
who conquered Scotland’s Three Sisters. Grey Bruce Public Health shares
important information about the growing concern around home takeovers,
and how to protect your loved ones from unwanted house guests who
eventually assume the head of household. Robin Hilborn brings us a blast
from the past with the history of dance pavilions along the Lake Huron
shoreline. Yoga teacher Esperanza Eusebio has some gentle and loving tips
about learning to “let go,” and finally, local history expert Mat Johnson
writes about Eugenia Falls and its interesting past.
We all know summer seems to go by more quickly each year, with gettogethers
with family, barbecues, summer recreational activities and the
regular everyday tasks we do to keep a household
running. It’s a challenge to sit back and soak it all
in, but my hope for you this summer is that you
find the time to slow down and enjoy it – Old
Man Winter will return soon enough.
Amy Irwin, Publisher
Grey-Bruce Boomers
CONTENTS
Bucket List • 4
Home takeovers • 10
Dance pavilions • 16
Art of letting go • 22
Eugenia Falls • 26
Recipe • 30
SUMMER 2023
Publisher
Amy Irwin
amy@greybruceboomers.com
Magazine Design
Becky Grebenjak
Advertising inquiries
amy@greybruceboomers.com
Grey-Bruce Boomers welcomes
your feedback.
EMAIL
amy@greybruceboomers.com
PHONE 519-524-0101
MAIL
P.O. Box 287, Ripley, ON N0G 2R0
Grey-Bruce Boomers is distributed for free in Grey and Bruce
counties, and is published each March, June, September, and
December. Distribution of this publication does not constitute
endorsement of information, products or services by Grey-Bruce
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advertisers are not necessarily those of the Publisher. Grey-Bruce
Boomers reserves the right to edit, reject or comment on all material
and advertising contributed. No portion of Grey-Bruce Boomers may
be reproduced without the written permission of the Publisher.

THE BUCKET LIST
Reach
for the top
IAN AND TERRY KENNEDY CLIMB SCOTLAND’S ‘THREE SISTERS’
BY DOUG ARCHER
4 • GREYBRUCEBOOMERS.COM

y Doug Archer
THE BUCKET LIST
As they came around the base of the mountain,
Ian and Terry Kennedy stopped dead in their
tracks. They gazed up, mouths hanging open. Before
them, looming against the grey Scottish sky, were
the infamous peaks of Glencoe, Scotland: Aonach
Dubh, Beinn Fhada and Gearr Aonach.
A trio of towering sandstone ridges more commonly
known as The Three Sisters.
“Terry said all the colour drained from my face
at the sight of the Sisters,” Ian said. “It was very
daunting. I felt like they were glaring down at us,
just daring us to try to scale them. Not only were
the peaks extremely high, but they were extremely
narrow, too. I remember thinking, ‘What have we
gotten ourselves into?’”
Ian’s love of mountain hiking and climbing started
when he was just a wee lad growing up in Scotland.
“My grandfather would rent a ‘But and Ben’ – that’s
Scottish for a two-room cottage – in a place called
Glenisla, and my family would go there for two weeks
every summer,” he explained. “It was definitely off
the beaten path. No power or running water. We had
to park the car along the road and hike to it, carrying
everything we needed on our backs. But I have really
fond memories of that wonderful place.”
Ian and his brother would spend their days exploring
the surrounding hills and sheep trails. A fishing fanatic,
he found the quickest way to get to a fishing spot in
Glenisla was usually up and over a hill or mountain.
“So that But and Ben was where my passion for
hiking was born.”
Terry came to mountain trekking a little later in life
– largely because of Ian.
“One of the first dates he took me on was to Lake
Placid, so we could hike the Adirondack Mountains,”
Terry and Ian Kennedy conquered
Scotland’s Three Sisters.
she laughed. “But it became an addiction. Once I
started, I couldn’t get enough of it. Being out in the
open air, surrounded by nature, pushing yourself,
testing your limits. It’s a wondrous feeling.”
The couple can’t get enough of that wondrous
feeling, either.
SUMMER 2023 • 5

THE BUCKET LIST
by Doug Archer
They have hiked hills and mountains in Canada
and the U.S. and tramped along coastal paths in
England and Australia. They’ve climbed glaciers
and volcanoes in New Zealand and were even
rescued by helicopter three days into a hike at that
country’s Milford Sound, when torrential rains
made the trails impassable.
Still, their favourite place to hike is where it all began
for Ian, in Scotland.
The two have journeyed from one end of the
country to the other, scaling the backsides of Munros
and Corbetts, Grahams and Donalds – and those
aren’t Highland clans, that’s what the Scottish call
their mountains. Munros are those over 3,000 feet,
Donalds are in the 2,000-foot range, and Corbetts
and Grahams are in between. Yet, until the autumn
of 2022, Ian and Terry had never climbed the
infamous Munros known as the Three Sisters.
Located in a group of mountains south of Glencoe,
the Sisters are three, steep-sided towers that rise
majestically from a lush valley into the heavens, like
a picture straight out of a medieval storybook.
“The first time we visited Glencoe, we stood at the
end of the valley and saw the Three Sisters rising
out of it,” recalled Ian. “It was one of the most
magnificent views I have ever set my eyes upon.”
Since that day, both Ian and Terry have wanted to
hike those iconic formations, but they kept talking
themselves out of it, until finally taking the leap this
past September.
“The sheer height and steepness of the ridges is
unnerving and that’s probably what made us keep
putting it off,” Terry said. “We were heading back
to Scotland for a 60th birthday celebration for Ian’s
brother and decided it was time to scale them.”
They arrived in Scotland two weeks before the climb

y Doug Archer
THE BUCKET LIST
and promptly talked the family into doing some pretraining
with them.
“We hiked as a group up Mount Blair, which is a
wee Graham,” Ian said. “It was in memory of my
parents, whose ashes lie at the top.”
A few days later, the couple climbed another Graham
with their son Andrew, before finally tackling some
Munros on our own.
“We even climbed 3,554 feet to the peak of a
mountain called Schiehallion,” Ian said, “The point
from which the mass of the earth was determined
back in 1774.”
All this was just a warm-up for the main event, though,
which they couldn’t put off any longer. Minutes after
sunrise on Sept. 24, 2022, Ian and Terry found
themselves staring up at the Three Sisters. Their
backpacks were loaded with compasses and a first aid
kit, matches and flashlights, sandwiches, nuts, dried
fruit, and an abundance of water. Family members
had been given details of their departure time and
expected time of return. They had topographical
maps of the peaks. Their walking poles were in
hand. All that was left was to start the climb.
The terrain up the Three Sisters is known to be
steep, complex and very rocky. According to Ian, it
was all that and more.
“The climb to the first peak is along a very narrow
path, only about a foot-and-a-half wide, with sheer
drops on either side,” he said. “Terry led the way,
and as we approached the summit, I got more and
more nervous and convinced myself that I would
have to go around it. That’s when we realized there
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SUMMER 2023 • 7

THE BUCKET LIST
by Doug Archer
The temperature was -3 C on top of the ridges, but
the climb was so intense and nerve-wracking that
Terry and Ian had to keep stripping layers off as they
went. All the while, they provided support to one
another.
“We have a good read of each other,” Terry said.
“When we saw that one was slowing down or becoming
apprehensive, we would offer encouragement,
basically cheering one another on. At particularly
difficult spots on the climb, we stopped and together
figured out the best way to proceed.”
That was a good thing because the descent from the
third peak proved to be particularly difficult. You
see, after reaching the summit of that final peak,
the Kennedys couldn’t find the path that would take
them back down.
Ian Kennedy in an ice crevasse on
a previous glacier hike.
was no way around. It was either turn back or go up
and over. And there was no way I was turning back.”
Terry had to talk him through the ascent, step-bystep,
coaxing him along, reminding him not to look
down. Once on the summit, Ian got Terry to take
a quick photo of him – to prove that he’d actually
made it to the top – before inching his way back
down and onto the next peak.
Unfortunately, the second was no easier to scale than
the first.
“It was just as high and no less treacherous,”
explained Ian. “And again, you couldn’t turn back!
It was too jagged and steep. So forward was the only
direction.”
“We were at the area that our map showed as the
point of descent, but we couldn’t see a way down
that was passable,” Ian recounted. “The narrow path
was all crumbling, loose rock, with sheer 1,000-foot
drops on either side! I told myself that this couldn’t
possibly be the way down.”
It turned out it was.
The couple learned later that there had been
significant erosion to the path the previous week, due
to heavy rainfall. Now, because of that erosion, they
found themselves faced with only two options – hike
six hours back the way they’d come, or, as Terry put
it, “Take some deeps breaths and head down.”
While the pair hesitated, another four hikers arrived.
According to Ian, they looked even more terror
stricken than he and Terry when they saw the state
of the path. So, Ian suggested they all go down
together, as a group, in case anything went wrong.
Everyone readily agreed.
“We descended in a ‘figure Z’ configuration, staying
8 • GREYBRUCEBOOMERS.COM

y Doug Archer
THE BUCKET LIST
close together,” Ian said. “There was so much loose
rock that we had to move really slowly, testing almost
every step we took. And we had to hold onto each
other through difficult sections, because if you
slipped and fell… well, you were going to drop over
1,000 feet!”
No one did, thankfully and once back on solid, flat
ground, the Kennedys breathed a sigh of relief and
elation. They had scaled the iconic Three Sisters of
Glencoe!
“The sense of accomplishment was amazing,” said
Ian. “Afterward, sitting on the patio of a tavern
overlooking the three ridges, we basked in the feeling
of knowing that we had been up there, higher than
the clouds, hiking through the most celebrated
Munros of the Scottish Highlands.”
Of course, the couple has plans for future treks. The
Appalachian Trail is on their Bucket List, as well as
the 800 km Camino pilgrimage in Spain. In honour
of Terry’s Dutch heritage, they are also planning to
walk 40 km per day for four days in what is called the
Nijmegen March. Held each year in the Netherlands,
it is the largest multiple-day marching event in the
world.
“We still have a lot more hikes left in us,” Ian laughed.
Doug Archer is a freelance writer and speaker who enjoys
celebrating the multi-faceted lives of the 50-plus generation. He
is also the author of three locally set mystery-adventure novels.
Learn more at www.coldcasekids.com or archer@bmts.com.
SUMMER 2023 • 9

HEALTH AND WELLNESS
When home isn’t safe
PUBLIC HEALTH RAISING AWARENESS OF
‘HOME TAKEOVERS’ BY LISA ALGUIRE

y Lisa Alguire
They say, your home should be your sanctuary
– it’s the one place where you should feel safe,
secure, and protected.
However, for people experiencing a “home takeover,”
this isn’t the case because this person’s sanctuary has
become a place where the resident feels in danger,
scared, or threatened.
For more than a year, Grey Bruce Public Health has
been working with Grey County and other community
partners to examine and develop strategies to
address the emerging issue of home takeovers in
the area. This multi-sectoral collaboration set out
to investigate the prevalence of home takeovers
locally, understand the current response to home
takeovers and gaps in that response, raise awareness
of the issue, and create a framework to help guide
community partners’ responses to home takeovers.
What is a home takeover?
To fully understand the issue of home takeovers,
it’s important to start with the basics, based on this
simple definition: A home takeover occurs when
a vulnerable homeowner or tenant is forced to
accommodate an unwanted guest in their home.
Building upon that definition, the unwanted guest
– who may also be referred to as a perpetrator of
the home takeover – could be a relative, friend, or
HEALTH AND WELLNESS
acquaintance of the home’s legitimate occupant.
They may have initially been invited to stay over –
often to fulfil a personal, social, or economic need
of the occupant. For example, an older adult may
allow someone to stay in their home to help with
household expenses, such as rent or food. Perhaps,
they allowed the person to stay over because they
were lonely or feeling isolated. Other factors that
might contribute to the occupant’s vulnerability to a
home takeover include empathy for the perpetrator’s
situation, a desire to help, or significant pressure to
house the perpetrator.
No matter what the initial reason may be, the invited
guest eventually “takes over” the home.
The situation becomes a home takeover when
the perpetrator refuses to leave and their actions
or activities make the occupant feel unsafe,
uncomfortable, or threatened in their own home. In
other words, the home no longer feels like a safe place.
Impacts of a home takeover
Threats, guilt, violence, manipulation, or financial
exploitation are among the reasons the legitimate
occupant of a home may accommodate the
perpetrator of a home takeover.
Consequences of a home takeover may include loss
of control within the home or even eviction. As an
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HEALTH AND WELLNESS
by Lisa Alguire
example, if the perpetrator engages in illegal activity
within the unit, the occupant could face eviction.
This can be devastating to a vulnerable tenant,
particularly if they lose their place in community
housing.
For children, the home and neighbourhood are
fundamental for healthy growth and development,
including mental health. Witnessing neighbourhood
violence and victimization impacts children even
when the home takeover is not happening in their
own home.
Many homeowners or tenants may find they are
unable to avoid or escape the perpetrator due to
a lack of supports or resources. It’s important to
note that the perpetrator of a home takeover is, in
most cases, also considered vulnerable and may be
engaging in the home takeover to fulfill their own
unmet need(s), such as a need for housing.
Local collaboration
In the fall of 2021, Grey County Housing began seeing
home takeovers happening in community housing
neighbourhoods. The tenants, families, or individuals
taking over the unit(s) and the neighbourhood were
negatively affected by home takeovers. To better
understand the issue, Grey Bruce Public Health staff
researched what was known about home takeovers.
That research indicated perpetrators are most likely
to target people who have vulnerabilities.
Several community partners were invited to
meet and discuss the research findings. They also
participated in a survey to understand the current
response and gaps in responding to a home takeover
in Grey County. The survey found that half of the
community partners surveyed had not heard of the
term ‘home takeover,’ but nearly all had encountered
dealing with it over the past year.
A Home Takeover Advisory Committee was
formed. It includes housing organizations, mental
health and addiction services, police, fire, and other
community organizations. As part of a pilot project,
a comprehensive plan was developed with the
goal of reducing the incidence of home takeovers.
Several resources and materials were created to
raise awareness of home takeovers within relevant
organizations and the general public.
A Home Takeover Response Framework and Pathway
was developed as an approach to build community
partners’ capacity to prevent, identify, respond to,
and support recovery from home takeovers.
Every home takeover situation is unique in its
circumstances, and the complexities associated with
home takeovers require good judgment from service
providers in deciding on the most appropriate course
of action. The Response Framework defines the
roles of each community partner involved in a home
takeover and outlines how we can respond using a
more coordinated approach.
Raising awareness
To help raise awareness about home takeovers, the
advisory committee has developed brochures, flyers,
and other resources. One of the documents lays out
questions that you can ask yourself to help determine
if a family member, friend, or someone else you
know is at risk of experiencing a home takeover.
Examples of those questions include:
• Have you seen a change in the person’s
behaviour?
• Are they more withdrawn or are they not showing
up where you would normally see them?
• Is the person telling you they’re always out of
money or food?
• Are they showing signs of weakness, weight loss,
stress or abuse?
• Has the person told you they have a guest?
12 • GREYBRUCEBOOMERS.COM

y Lisa Alguire
HEALTH AND WELLNESS
• Have you noticed increased activity around the
person’s home?
• Is there more noise coming from the person’s
unit than usual?
• Are there people you don’t recognize around
the person’s home or is the same guest always
coming and going from the person’s home?
For service providers in Grey-Bruce, the following may
indicate a home takeover is occurring with the tenant:
• The individual becomes reluctant to allow the
worker into their home or requests that meetings
occur outside the home.
• The tenant has not checked in with the worker
in some time and is noticeably absent from the
home. Some home takeover targets turn up in
shelters despite being legitimate tenants of a
rented unit because they have been forced out or
no longer feel comfortable in their own home.
• Landlords or property managers may receive an
increase in complaints about a unit, particularly
concerning noise, excessive visitors, increases in
cars or bikes outside, and the uncharacteristic
presence of young people at the property.
• There is a noticeable change in the tenant’s
financial situation, including an uncharacteristic
inability to pay rent, bills or buy groceries.
• The tenant’s physical appearance has
deteriorated.
• There is an increase in reports that the individual
has become more isolated from friends, family
and/or social groups.
• If given access to the home, contents within
suggest that more individuals are staying in the
unit than those that reside there, or in some
cases, the takeover perpetrator(s) are there.
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HEALTH AND WELLNESS
by Lisa Alguire
A home takeover occurs when a
vulnerable homeowner or tenant
is forced to accommodate an
unwanted guest in their home.
Home takeover resources
This year, the home takeover project will continue
to focus on raising awareness about the issue
in our communities, as well as gaining a better
understanding of the prevalence of home takeovers
and other social needs in the community through
data collection. Grey Bruce Public Health is
planning to hold events to help educate people about
home takeovers. It will also be using its social media
platforms to help spread awareness. Resources, like
pamphlets and posters, will help spread the word
about this emerging issue.
The Home Takeover Advisory Committee has
developed a 10-question checklist, entitled Welcomed
Guest or Home Takeover? to help homeowners or
tenants determine if they are experiencing (or at risk
of experiencing) a home takeover. It is important to
protect your home and reach out for support when
needed.
A guidebook for organizations and service providers,
along with a presentation, has been created to
assist organizations and service providers to
offer opportunities for education and awareness
concerning home takeovers for vulnerable tenants,
frontline workers and the broader community. All
of these resources are available on the Grey Bruce
Public Health website under the ‘Your Environment’
drop-down menu and ‘Healthy Housing, Home
Takeover.’
Everyone should feel safe in their own home. Targets
of a home takeover are encouraged to talk to
someone they trust. That might be a support worker,
landlord, family member, neighbour or friend. Not
sure who to call? Call or text 211.
Lisa Alguire is a Public Health Nurse at Grey Bruce Public
Health and part of GBPH’s Foundational Standards
team. She has been co-lead of the multi-sectoral Home
Takeover Pilot Project since its inception. Learn more at
www.publichealthgreybruce.on.ca.
14 • GREYBRUCEBOOMERS.COM

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HISTORY
DANCE
PAVILIONS
POPULAR HALLS BEGAN OPENING ALONG THE LAKE HURON
SHORELINE IN THE 1920S BY ROBIN HILBORN
Dancing at Kincardine Pavilion.
(Bruce County Museum & Cultural Centre, A2017.058.001)
16 • GREYBRUCEBOOMERS.COM

y Robin Hilborn
HISTORY
Those were the days – summer breezes off Lake
Huron, strolling the beach as swing music wafts
from the hall, and dancing under the stars.
Beachfront dance pavilions became common in
Ontario’s lakeside resort towns beginning in the
1920s, with seven on the Bruce County coastline.
The oldest, at Oliphant, was joined by dance halls
at Sauble Beach (two), Southampton, Port Elgin,
Inverhuron and Kincardine.
At Oliphant, William McKenzie built McKenzie’s
Pavilion in 1921. The dance hall was on the second
floor, above stalls for parking cars and storing boats.
Since power lines did not reach Oliphant until 1949,
the pavilion’s lights were powered by lead-acid batteries
charged by a 32-volt Delco Light gasoline generator.
During the 1930s and ’40s, the pavilion attracted
dancers from up and down the shores of Lake Huron
and Georgian Bay. William’s son Mac recalled his
summer job, sprinkling powdered wax on the floor
and taking tickets as couples entered the dance
floor – admission to the dance hall was 10 cents per
person, plus five cents for every “dance” (two musical
numbers). As nearby Sauble Beach Pavilion grew
more popular, the crowds abandoned Oliphant.
Eventually the pavilion was used only for the annual
Civic Holiday Regatta dance, then it became a flea
market. In the 1980s, owner Susie Morris renamed
the building the Oliphant Pavilion.
Sauble Beach’s original dance hall was Bob
Walker’s eight-sided Octagon, built on the beach
in 1933. Wally Scott, band leader and accountant
at Hepworth Furniture in Southampton, together
with his brother-in law Jack Robertson, bought the
Octagon and opened it in 1946 as the Sauble Beach
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HISTORY
by Robin Hilborn
In 1922, the Knowles family added a dance pavilion
to its Breakers Lodge resort on Southampton beach.
It headlined well-known big bands such as Guy
Lombardo and His Royal Canadians and Ferde
Mowry’s band from Toronto. Southampton resident
Margaret Large remembered the summer nights of
the 1920s.
“The pavilion opened with the music of the
Southampton Rayner Dance Band,” Margaret
said. “I believe dances were five cents. The Rayners
played ‘Valencia’ at least five times every night. My
sister and I would sit on the porch listening to the
music as we were too young to go to the dances.”
At Sauble Beach, Wally Scott’s orchestra, 1947. (Bruce
County Museum & Cultural Centre, A2007.075.003)
Pavilion. Later they added an outdoor terrazzo floor
so couples could dance under the stars on warm
summer evenings.
The house band in those years was the Wally Scott
Orchestra, while a regular visitor was the Warren
Ovens Band from Kitchener. In 1950, Scott and
Robertson replaced the old structure with a bigger
dance hall on the same site, retaining the open-air
portion. The new layout held up to 2,500 dancers.
The Pavilion also hosted Bingo, movies and country
dances with Don Robertson’s Ranch Boys. In the ’60s
and ’70s, rock bands like Crowbar kept the Pavilion
open, but crowds declined to the point that the owners
retired in 1978 and demolished the building.
Stewart Wilson thought there was room for a
second dance pavilion at Sauble Beach and built the
Danceiro dance hall in 1967. He brought in name
rock bands like the Calgary Stampeders. Though
Wilson also hired local bands to attract an audience
for country music, Danceiro suffered from its location
far from the beach and on the highway, a mile north
of Sauble Falls. It closed in 1972 and the building
became an auto body shop.
The pavilion closed in 1942 and was renovated as
guest rooms. The Breakers Lodge was closed in 1990
and the 103-year-old hotel and annex was torn down.
Opened in 1924 on Port Elgin beach, Cedar Crescent
Casino offered dancing six nights a week. The Ferde
Mowry band played the Casino in the 1930s and
the band’s sax player Emmett McGrath fell in love
with the hall. In 1944, he and his wife Pat bought it
and made it one of the town’s major summertime
attractions. Vacationers thronged to see bands led by
the Wright Brothers, Ozzie Williams, Brian Farnon,
Norm Harris and Bert Worth.
From 1950-64, the house band was Lloyd Kibbler’s
Big Band from Owen Sound. Moving with the
times, the McGraths introduced Twist contests,
Go-Go nights and rock music by stars like David
Clayton Thomas, Ronnie Hawkins, Robbie Lane,
Paupers, Major Hoople’s Boarding House and local
band Gordon Rhodes and the Swingin’ Comets. In
1968, the McGraths retired and sold the pavilion. It
burned down two years later and Port Elgin lost its
great beach attraction. A new pavilion at the same
location lasted about 10 years – it was condemned as
structurally unsafe and demolished. Big band music
continued to live, however, with the founding of the
annual Canadian Big Band Celebration in 1995.
18 • GREYBRUCEBOOMERS.COM

y Robin Hilborn
HISTORY
Built in 1930, the dance hall at Inverhuron beach
was originally called Casa Nova Gardens. Before
the war, George Scott was bass player in the Tony
Cryan band, based in Stratford. He wanted to run
his own pavilion and bought the Gardens in 1948.
He catered to the many farmers in the area – he
hired local bands, which played for both round and
square dancing. One of the best callers was Skipper
McKinnon. As other forms of entertainment grew,
like TV and bars, the dance business shrank. Scott
closed the Inverhuron Pavilion in 1964 and turned it
into apartments.
The Kincardine Pavilion opened during the 1923
Old Boys and Girls Reunion. As with all the beach
pavilions, couples could stroll along the lakefront and
enjoy the music floating into the evening air. In Lake
Huron’s Summer Dance Pavilions, author Peter Young
named some of the bands presented there: Giles
Merrymakers, Don Messer, Lionel Thornton, Mart
Kenney and the bands of John Brenan and Johnny
Downs, both from London. Young wrote, “Paper
dresses were available for rent if a young woman
was wearing shorts at the beach during the day and
wished to attend the dance at night.”
The Kincardine Pavilion was due for demolition in
2004 but volunteers from the Friends of the Pavilion
group used grants and loans to restore the 1923 hall
to its former glory, bringing back live Big Band music
and dancing to Kincardine. Home to the Lighthouse
Swing Band as well as a favourite spot for weddings
with its home on Kincardine’s north beach, it’s the
last surviving dance pavilion on the Bruce coast.
Excerpted from ‘The Bruce,’ published by the Bruce County
Historical Society.
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SUMMER 2023 • 19

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*Renderings are artist’s concept. E&OE.

UNDER THE MOUNTAIN,
CLOSE TO THE SHORE.

OPINION
The art of
letting go
REMOVING UNNECESSARY THOUGHTS AND ITEMS FROM YOUR
LIFE CAN HAVE A POSITIVE IMPACT BY ESPERANZA EUSEBIO
22 • GREYBRUCEBOOMERS.COM

y Esperanza Eusebio
OPINION
We are constantly on the move, and everywhere
we look we’re being offered more things,
different lifestyles, and miracle diets for achieving a
new body and status.
It is overwhelming to watch TV nowadays, or
browse social media. It is almost impossible to quit
wanting more since it is our nature as a human, but
it is possible. My background is in marketing and
business, so I have learned all the tools and techniques
over my career to promote and sell things, but the
question remains, do we need more?
There is always the next best thing that we want
to bring to our lives, but what we truly need is an
awareness of how fortunate we are to live in today’s
age. Consider how easy it is for us when we can grab
water easily from the tap when we are thirsty. How
easy it is to open our fridge and have safe food when
we are hungry. For that simple fact, we are living in
abundance, and this realization is where we can start
the journey of letting go.
The first thing we must do is define what abundance
means to us. There are so many kinds of abundance
– financial, spiritual, love, freedom, health, time,
and knowledge, so the question is what kind of
abundance do you want in your life? What are the
unnecessary things you can let go of ?
The art of letting go
We live in a world where we have reached the
maximum comfort for the human race. The vast
majority of us have heat, food, water, and yet we still
want more. The intention of this article is to help us
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OPINION
come back to the present moment, instead of always living in
the past or the future, not enough in the present.
To be able to let go, we need to be in the moment.
After we re-define the abundance that we want to have in our
lives, we can then start to think about the things that we can let
go of. Here are some possible sources of inspiration:
Make time for yourself – There is no excuse to not do
this. Go for a walk, journal, take a bath. Any time we give to
ourselves can bring clarity into our lives.
Protect your time – Sometimes people try to complicate
your life by making demands on your time. Saying no isn’t
easy, but you need to have the courage to do so to protect your
personal time and boundaries. It is a great challenge and takes
practice, and we can start with ourselves. How many times
you have felt stressed because you want to finish one more of
the chores on the list? Can you learn to say no to yourself ?
The asana practice (yoga postures) can help us to create those
boundaries too.
Choose your battles – Sometimes peace is better than being
right. That is a big one, and you can do this at work, school,
with your family and friends. Let go of the battles that we know
are going to cause us stress.
24 • GREYBRUCEBOOMERS.COM

y Esperanza Eusebio
Let go of what you don’t need – This includes
things you don’t need, trends, social media, the
news, or anything that does not enhance your life.
Believe me, once you let go of all this you will have
more time for yourself! Try it for a week and see the
little change you can create. (People are included in
this too!)
Gratitude practice – To be able to let go, we need
to be aware of our blessings, so make a list!
We can be the makers of a balanced and peaceful
life. The meaning of yoga translates to union, and
the union that we often lose when we are away
from the present is our mind-body connection, so
incorporating this practice into our everyday life will
teach us more about the art of letting go.
Esperanza Eusebio is the owner of the Yoga Barn Studio. She
has been practicing yoga since she was 17 and been teaching the
past 11 years. The native of Mexico has a Masters in Science
from Iowa State University and also studied marketing. She
also leads yoga retreats to other countries. Learn more at www.
yogabarn.ca.
Save and pass on your valued memories
personal stories family history memoirs
How I can help you:
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For more information, visit your-life-stories.ca
arlen.wiebe.writer@gmail.com phone: 226-668-3352
SUMMER 2023 • 25

RECREATION
Eugenia Falls
FROM POWER GENERATOR TO POPULAR HIKING SPOT,
CONSERVATION AREA HAS A LONG HISTORY BY MAT JOHNSON
Though not for the faint of heart, hiking the
Bruce Trail at the Eugenia Falls Conservation
Area has many redeeming qualities, making the
challenging conditions worthwhile.
Located at the cusp of the Beaver Valley, on the
west side of the hamlet of Eugenia, the falls have
been well known to the local population since they
were set aside as part of a conservation area in 1957.
Even before this designation as a protected property,
Eugenia Falls was noted in the diaries and newspaper
accounts of travellers who marvelled at the beauty
and power of the 30-metre waterfall.
Though visiting the falls has been a staple for those
living in the Grey/Bruce area for quite some time,
its rocky paths and ancient cedar trees have recently
seen an explosion in visitors, particularly during the
pandemic. When the popularity of a natural location
rises, however, the risk of the added foot traffic
damaging the sensitive ecosystem also increases. This
dynamic often compels the authorities that care for
these areas to implement protective measures; this is
precisely what has occurred at Eugenia Falls.
26 • GREYBRUCEBOOMERS.COM

y Mat Johnson
RECREATION
Though most visitors to the area have heeded the
pleas to stay on marked trails and steer clear from
the sheer cliff edges in the park, the Grey Sauble
Conservation Authority, in cooperation with the
Bruce Trail Conservancy, has taken the unfortunate
but necessary step of fencing off the north side of
the gorge.
This move, however, does not reduce the overall
enjoyment of the park, as the splendid vistas of the
falls and Cuckoo Valley remain untouched.
Aside from being a peaceful and beautiful landscape,
the Eugenia Falls Conservation Area has its share
of hidden and fascinating history. Mysterious stone
arches found on the property are a constant source
of intrigue to visitors. Hiding in these beautifully
crafted arches is not just the tale of failed experiments
in power generation, but a reflection of early 20th
Century attitude where conquering nature, by any
means, was seen as a necessary step in the forward
march of progress.
Like almost any account of North American
history, it must start with the end of the last ice age.
Approximately 12,000 to 13,000 years ago, the last
of the Wisconsin ice sheet receded from what is now
southwestern Ontario, leaving in its wake a series
of deep gouges and irregular scrapings. This glacial
bulldozing resulted in both the creation of the Great
Lakes basin and revealed a stunning layer of rock too
hard for the glaciers to flatten, which is now known
as the Niagara Escarpment. The beautiful Beaver
Valley, into which the conservation area’s namesake
Eugenia Falls cascades, is a charming remnant of
this turbulent geological time.
The village of Eugenia itself, like many small Ontario
Route 1
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Owen Sound to Dundalk
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Dundalk to Orangeville
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SUMMER 2023 • 27

RECREATION
by Mat Johnson
hamlets in the mid-1800s, developed organically
over a relatively long period. Early settlers in Grey/
Bruce were attracted to sources of power, such as
Eugenia’s Beaver River, which provided propulsion
for early saw and grist mills. The village is named
after Princess Eugénie de Montijo (1826-1920), the
wife of French Emperor Napoleon III (1808-73).
Members of the original survey team in the Eugenia
area were former French military engineers and their
militaristic influence on the village is evident in the
street names such as Napoleon, Redan and Zouave.
In 1853, the hamlet was rife with excitement as it
was rumoured that gold had been discovered in the
valley below the falls. What is now acrimoniously
referred to as the “Eugenia Gold Rush” turned out
to be nothing more than the chance discovery of
pyrite, commonly known as fool’s gold.
Aside from an ephemeral bout of gold speculation,
Eugenia’s settlement pattern resembled other
growing communities in Grey and Bruce counties
through the latter half of the 19th Century. A
collection of dwellings, sawmills and churches
serviced the population. Excitement would return
once again in the late-1890s as speculation in
electrical power generation enthralled the village.
Looking to capitalize on profits that the new
technology promised, businessman William Hogg
built a small generating station on the south side
of the river, just to the east of the falls, located in
what is now the main conservation area. Hogg
planned on using water from the river as the source
of propulsion for the electricity-generating turbine
that he planned on housing in a stone powerhouse.
However, the scheme faded away as the river failed to
provide enough power. Though heavily vandalized
and decorated with graffiti, the stone portion of
the structure that housed the generation equipment
remains for visitors to explore.
Another hydroelectric plan was hatched in the early-
1900s by a consortium calling itself the Georgian
Bay Power Company. It would see a 52-inch pipe
run nearly 800 feet north from the Beaver River, just
above the falls, descending through the side of the
escarpment into a generating station located on the
valley floor. It was initially projected that the station
would produce 2,400 horsepower in the span of a
10-hour day. This plan involved the costly procedure
of excavating an 800-foot tunnel, which would house
the water pipe, through the escarpment or “Eugenia
Mountain,” as several overly dramatic newspapers
referred to it.
Work began on the tunnel in 1906 and was completed
in 1907, however, the costs of the project nearly
bankrupted the Georgian Bay Power Company and
work was halted. The Ontario government took
control of the enterprise several years later, buying
the assets of the Georgian Bay Power Company.
Provincially funded work to generate electricity and
involving the construction of a massive dam on the
Beaver River, to the east of Eugenia, began in 1914.
When completed, the flooded area covered roughly
1,170 acres and was now known as Eugenia Lake.
To produce power, water descends through pipes
from the lake to a generating station located on the
valley floor, a journey of roughly one kilometre.
Officially opened in November 1915, this power
generation facility is still in operation nearly 110
years later using the water of the Beaver River and
Eugenia Lake. The generating station’s use of water
power for so long lends credence to the original plan
of diverting water through pipes to the valley floor.
However, the volume of water available from Lake
Eugenia today vastly eclipses that which would have
been available from smaller dams located near the
top of the falls.
While enjoying the trails in the Eugenia Falls
Conservation Area, it is recommended to visit the
remaining stone tunnel entrances, reminders of
28 • GREYBRUCEBOOMERS.COM

y Mat Johnson
RECREATION
the ambitious designs of the Georgian Bay Power
Company. The tunnel was filled in for safety reasons,
but the stone archways serve as a memento of what
was once expected to be a profitable undertaking.
One archway is located on the north side of the
Beaver River in the park, near the brink of the falls.
The corresponding arch, or what was once the other
end of the tunnel, is located about one kilometre
north of that spot and is hidden in the woods, just
off of the Bruce Trail.
The main trails and side trails in the Eugenia Falls
Conservation Area are mostly single track, well
marked and hard packed. Nevertheless, great care
must be taken, particularly near the river above the
falls, as very irregular rocks on the trail guarantee
unhappy results from any missteps. Sturdy shoes are
a must, and due to the rugged terrain, exploring with
a friend is recommended. Carrying a water supply
with you is also a good plan, particularly during the
summer months. Parking is limited on weekends in
the Conservation Area parking lot, while several
smaller Bruce Trail lots are located nearby within a
short hike of the park.
Additionally, the Bruce Trail website and mobile
app are excellent sources for updated parking
information, trail alerts, and other tips to help
make a day at the Eugenia Falls Conservation Area
enjoyable for all.
Mat Johnson is the owner of Marathon of History, a historical
interpretation company located in Durham, Ont. To learn more
visit marathonofhistory.ca or follow Marathon of History on
Instagram and Facebook.
Play Eat Stay
visitgrey.ca
@visitgrey
SUMMER 2023 • 29

FOOD & DRINK
Summer peach
jambalaya
INGREDIENTS
Preparation time: 20 minutes
Cooking time: 12 minutes
Servings: 4
½ cup sodium-reduced chicken broth
2 cloves garlic, crushed
1 tsp dried thyme leaves
½ tsp dried oregano leaves
¼ tsp each cayenne and hot pepper sauce
2 cups cooked rice
¹/ ³
cup diced pepperoni
1 sweet green pepper, diced
1 large field tomato, diced
12 oz skinless rainbow trout fillet(s)
4 peaches
2 green onions, thinly sliced
Instructions
In large deep skillet, combine broth, garlic, thyme,
oregano, cayenne and hot pepper sauce; bring to a boil
over high heat.
Stir rice, pepperoni, green pepper and tomato into boiling
mixture. Cover tightly and reduce heat to medium.
Simmer for three minutes. Cut fish into bite-sized pieces.
Stir into rice mixture, cover and cook for three minutes.
Meanwhile, peel, pit and dice three peaches. Slice
remaining peach (unpeeled) into wedges for garnish.
Stir diced peaches, any peach juices and onions into rice
mixture. Cover and continue to cook until fish is opaque,
two to four minutes. Garnish with sliced peaches.
*Recipe courtesy of Foodland Ontario
30 • GREYBRUCEBOOMERS.COM

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