HomeMy WebLinkAboutHuron Expositor, 2016-11-16, Page 13PUBLIC SERVICE ANNOUNCEMENT
14 Huron Expositor • Wednesday, November 16, 2016
Women in Business in Huron East
To understand what drives Liz Paget to creative excellence, you have to go back to the
very beginning of her life. When Liz was only five years old, her entire family was in peril.
They lived in Budapest, Hungary, which was in the throes of the Hungarian Revolution.
It was a violent, traumatic time, and some very brave people escaped with their lives
and nothing else.
Liz remembers the day they left. There was a throng of people, pressed together, walking
in a stream out of the city. Her mother grabbed her sister and brother's hands, saying
quietly "We will walk in the middle of the crowd." Liz was the youngest, so her dad
picked her up and told her to lay her head on his shoulder. On they marched.
Danger was everywhere. When the family finally reached the outskirts of the city, they
walked to the next village, then the next, and the next. They could hear gunfire and
sirens, and saw lights as the soldiers searched for those trying to escape. Liz was tied
inside her father's coat as two 11 year old boys guided them through trenches dug in the
fields, until they finally reached the Austrian border.
As soon as they were free, a woman grabbed Liz' cheeks, exclaiming over her and calling
her "Bubba!" Liz remembers the excitement of being safe, and the joy of sipping warm
milk offered to them by kind strangers speaking in a foreign tongue.
They spent Christmas in Austria, but wanted to emigrate and settle down in America.
When her mother was informed that America had closed its borders to immigrants, she
was devastated. The official said, "Why not Canada?" and showed her a map. When she
saw that Canada was so close to the US, her mom was satisfied!
The family arrived in Montreal, and lived in various places over the next few years. Liz'
dad was a painter and decorator, and he worked hard to establish himself in Saskatoon,
but the climate was too cold for her mom, who had suffered a bad fall. They moved
to Windsor, but the economy wasn't booming at the time, so they tried Strafford and
Toronto for a time.
All of these moves were an adventure for Liz, who loved meeting new people and
experiencing new adventures. Her siblings would have preferred to settle down, but Liz
was delighted every time the family moved to a new place. She says that she remembers
every school and every teacher!
Education was very important in their family, and Liz remembers her mother saying
"I don't want to see a B on your report card." Because of the expectations in the family,
Liz did very well in school, and she values the discipline instilled in her by her parents.
When they lived in Stratford, Liz attended Northwestern, which had a new business
course, teaching Business Management, Accounting, Typing and Shorthand. When Liz
was 17, she moved to Toronto and took a job as a policy typist for an insurance company.
She took more business courses on the side, and soon was qualified to be an Executive
Administration Assistant in both the medical and legal fields. That didn't stop her from
the desire to learn, so in 1988, she went to Ryerson and became a real estate broker
and agent!
Liz was married in 1974, and had three children. Her husband Wayne was a musician
with the band "Motherlode", which was famous for the hit, "When I Die." When Wayne
became ill with a muscular disorder, Liz worked as a real estate agent for Royal LePage.
She loved sales and administration, and had a knack for staging properties before it was
even a word. She would ask the client if he minded if she reconfigured the house a little
bit...and she got results. Before long, other real estate agents would call her up and
say, "I just listed this property. I need your help!" Her decorating ability brought in a little
income on the side, which was a blessing during a trying time in the family.
Liz divorced her husband Wayne in 2001, and is quick to say that the divorce was
amicable. In fact, they are still friends, and spend some holidays together.
In 2007, she met Peter Paget, and it was a wonderful relationship right off the bat. Peter
was a teacher who owned an antique shop in Toronto. Liz and Peter shared their interest
in antiques, and spent many weekends on antiquing trips, looking for special items. Peter
is very knowledgeable about antiques, and understands militaria, coins, dishes — what
is valuable, what items are worth, and so on. Liz's strengths are decorating and art, as
well as the administration side of the business: marketing, signage, and so on. Liz hired
Seaforth Signs to make the sign for the store. She wanted it to look like an antique
English Parlour.
When Liz met Peter, they were living and working in Toronto, so I asked her why they
ended up in Seaforth. She told me that when they'd go on their weekend antiquing trips,
they often passed through Seaforth, and Peter just loved the beauty of the town, no
matter which way you come in. From the east, there's the Lion's park and little river, and
the hospital grounds that look so lovely. From the west, you approach Seaforth from a
hill, coming down towards town with beautiful fields and houses in view.
They moved to Seaforth and lived on Gouinlock, renovating an old house. Liz had her
eye on Dr. Turnbull's old white house, situated between the Seaforth Public Library and
Bethel Bible Church. They knew they were in for a lot of work, but were up for the
challenge, transforming an old house that was divided into three apartments back to its
origin as a single family home.
The property is zoned C4, so Liz and Peter planned to use the barn in the back as an
Antiques Barn. The more they thought about it, the more they leaned towards running a
store on Main Street. Paget's Place opened on June 1, 2016. It's a place to find beautiful
antiques, delightful collectables, and unusual items for gifts or for the home. They have
everything from furniture to art to dishes to quilt — something of interest for everyone.
Liz absolutely loves it! She is a people person, and is happy to say that people come
from Kitchener, from Owen Sound, from Strathroy, from all over... People on their way to
cottages in Bayfield and Goderich will stop to see what's new in the store.
Liz loves to keep her eyes open for a particular item someone is looking for. If she
and Peter are out at an estate sale or auction and she sees a piece that she knows a
customer wants, she'll buy it and contact them. If she doesn't have something in the
store, but knows another local business carries that item, she sends her customers to
other businesses.
Paget's Place 14 Main St. S, Seaforth • 519-600-6677
• pagetliz@yahoo.ca • Liz Paget, owner
Paget's Place is open Tuesday — Friday from 10 am — 5 pm, and Saturday from noon — 5 pm.
What does it take to be an entrepreneur? Are there obstacles to overcome,
especially if you're a woman going into business for yourself? Janet Billson is
writing a series of articles about business women of Huron East, focusing on sole
proprietors and entrepreneurs. Janet is the owner of a small business, Add Some
Flair, and is passionate about using non-toxic, Canadian -made paint to transform
ordinary objects in the home into extraordinary treasures that you love. She has
furniture for sale in her store, and offers workshops that are fun and informative!
www.addsomeflair.ca • 519-527-2682
43057 Winthrop Rd, Seaforth • info@addsomeflair.ca
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Justine Alkema/Clinton News Record
A photo from Huron FC's soccer camp this summer.
Huron FC opens doors for all players
Justine Alkema
Huron FC is several years
old and still adding new
programs to improve their
soccer and futsal club.
This winter, they created
a league in Huron where
kids born from 2005 to 1999
who are not affiliated with
the indoor soccer or "fut-
sal" club can play with their
members representing
their school or geographic
area on Saturdays at CHSS.
"This will we be a great
opportunity for players to
keep soccer skills up during
the winter months, and
enjoy the faced paced game
of Futsal," said Manager
Annie Sparling. "This 5 v 5
game, used extensively in
Europe and South America,
is attributed for the incred-
ible success these countries
have had globally in world
soccer."
Huron FC is a very com-
petitive league with
coaches in from as far as
Europe; they train locally
but play all their games in
London with a London
league.
Huron FC started this
new program this season
to provide kids who aren't
in the league the opportu-
nity to play with their
teams. This proved to be a
popular opportunity as
they are already at full
capacity for their
registration.
Knowing the
difference between this
c
could save your life.
If you are nsidering a MedicAlert' membership there's
something you need to know.
Some stores are selling bracelets that look very similar to
MedicAlert. These imitation bracelets may not contain
medically accurate information about you and they cannot
connect an emergency physician with your medical record.
In an mergency, only MedicAlert provides instant
information on critical medical conditions or allergies and
gives the emergency team immediate access to your medical
record through the MedicAlert' 24-hour Emergency Hotline.
MedicAlert is not sold in stores. You canobtain a
registration form through your family physiciaby calling
1-600-668-1507 or online at wwwmedicalert.ca
Canadian MedicAlerr Foundation is a national registered
charity dedicated to protecting and saving lives.
MedicAlert
Lets You Live Life.
www.med1calert.ca