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HomeMy WebLinkAboutHuron Expositor, 2006-10-04, Page 25News The Huron Expositor • October 4, 2006 Page 25 Seaforth caterer fed 'the humble and the famous Jeff Heuchert amimmim Born in Victoria Harbour, Valma Miller came to Seaforth during the depression in 1929 with $2 in her hand and started working as a wait- ress at the Queen's Hotel. One evening, with the cook out sick and a group of hungry men waiting to be served, Miller took control of the situation. "She ran down to the butcher shop, grabbed some steaks, and cooked them a steak dinner," recalls Miller's daughter Lorraine Baechler, of Goderich. "And that's how it all started." Valma would later marry Bill Miller, of Seaforth, who delivered bread to the hotel at the time, and raise two children, Lorraine and Bruce. Miller, at age 97, passed away on Sept. 20 at Huronviewin , Clinton, whereshe had resided since moving last year from her Seaforth home, at 54 Lloyd Eisler St. It was at her Seaforth home that Lorraine recalls many y fond memo- ries of her mother. "The house always smelt wonder- ful. Pies and cakes everywhere. Some of my earliest memories is site - ting on the cellar steps to talk with my mom while she was baking up a storm," says Baechler, who adds that her mother's cooking must have rubbed off on the rest of the family. "It's (the cooking is) contagious. We all love to cook. I think it's in our genes," says Lorraine. Miller's career as a caterer may have started slowly, but she quickly became the go -to cook in the county. "I think it was just word of mouth. She gradually built it (her catering business) up and it became phenom- enal," says Lorraine, adding, "She never turned down a funeral if she could. She always warted to help people out." Miller's first event she catered was for the Seaforth Lions Club, but soon was answering calls from sports clubs, political organizations, companies, schools and individuals. Throughout the years, Miller would cater for many famous peo- ple, including Prime Minister Mackenzie Xing, Lieutenant Governors, Cabinet Ministers and Premiers of Ontario, the Harlem Globe Trotters, tire Montreal Canadiens, The Toronto Maple Leafs and international events such as the Silver Broom bonspiel. However, some of the largest events she catered were here in Huron County. For the Goderich centennial, she provided a lunch for over 1,000 peo- ple. In Miller's basement kitchen, she was equipped with five stoves, four refrigerators, five freezers and a 10 X 12 foot cooling room, which Lorraine says was put to good use - even if she was cooking for just her family. "She cooked for three generations of family," says Lorraine, who along Valma Miller cutting one of her many cakes. with her husband own Baechler Kitchens and Interiors, in Goderich. "I still have people who come in to the store and say, 'she cooked for my wedding or this and that.'" When she was 81 years of age, Miller produced a cookbook contain- ing many of her favourite recipes, which Lorraine says has been pur- chased around the world. Five years later, Lorraine says the family was able to convince her mother to retire from her catering business. "She retired at 86, and that was with protest," recalls Lorraine. "She really loved what she did. She catered to the humble and the famous, and she treated them all the same." "She set such a great example for the children and grandchildren," she adds. The night Miller arrived in Seaforth there had been a bad fire at Willis' shoe store and she was taken through a dark alley filled with debris to the hotel. "My first impression of Seaforth was, I tell you, it wasn't very good," Miller would later recall. However, just like what Miller always used to say about her food, "You get out of it what you put in," Lofraine says her mother grew very fond of the community over the years. "She would always say how good the people in Seaforth were to her," she adds. • We bringyou LOCAL news like nobody else.. LOCAL Sports LOCAL Weddings LOCAL Birth Announcements LOCAL Obituaries LOCAL Clubs and Organizations LOCAL Community Leaders LOCAL Business News LOCAL Education News LOCAL Farm News LOCAL Government News LOCAL Crime Reports LOCAL Sale Prices LOCAL like nobody else.:. Why subscribe to The Huron Expositor? Because this is where LOCAL people find LOCAL news 52 weeks a year! Call today to subscribe. Phone (519) 527-0240 Fax (519) 527-2858 email: seaforth@bowesinet.com