The Citizen, 2019-06-20, Page 5Other Views
Pro tips for post-secondary education
Every town is the sum of its people Shawn
Loughlin
Shawn’s Sense
Earlier this week, my friend Mike
celebrated his birthday (or bird day, as
we’ve taken to calling it – that’s a story
for another day) and I came to realize that it
was well over 10 years since I graduated
university, where I met him.
That means that it’s been over 15 years since
I started school at 18 years old and, looking
back, I think I pretty much aced it.
As I explained to my wife when I stormed
out of the bathroom after showering with this
great idea for a column – I consider myself
pretty successful when it comes to my
education.
I had a great time, I made some life-long
friends that I don’t see near enough, I didn’t
fail a single course and, in the end, I walked
away with a pair of degrees and, after working
at a small tech start-up in Waterloo for a few
weeks, walked into my chosen career of
journalism.
As I said to her, point to someone else who
can claim that. The best she could come up
with is Superman’s alter-ego Clark Kent
(which doesn’t count, he’s an illegal alien).
As I booted up my laptop that Saturday
morning, hair still damp from the shower,
creative ideas swirling in a brainstorm of
epic proportions, I realized that this series
of columns may never reach much of
its intended audience of students getting ready
for post secondary education because I did a
lot of things your average parents didn’t want
you to do when away at post-secondary
education.
I… well, you know what, you’ll see. For the
most part, however, this first column is pretty
safe, unless you really want your teen to stay
close to home.
• Choosing a school:First and foremost,
don’t leave the province. Stay in Ontario for
your education if you can. Beyond that, put as
much distance between yourself and your
home as possible. For me, that was Brantford’s
campus of Wilfrid Laurier University.
Pick a good school, but not one of the big
ones that your friends and relatives go to if
possible. For me, that meant staying away
from Guelph, London and
Kitchener/Waterloo.
Why, you may ask? Well it gives you a
chance to really be yourself. I found that,
when I left high school, I was very much a
product of my experiences from those four
years. While I wasn’t unhappy with who I was,
there were some things I would’ve liked to do
differently. Going to Brantford where I could
count the number of students from Huron
County on one hand, really allowed me to start
fresh.
Don’t freak out if you don’t get your first
choice. Despite what I just said, I had my heart
set on going to Huron University College at
the University of Western Ontario to pursue an
education in English, and I was accepted until
a certain English final grade torpedoed those
dreams. Everything happens for a reason,
though, as going to my second choice proved
to be the best thing in the world for me.
So, to shortlist it: go far away, but stay in
Ontario. Try and get away from the people you
know. Don’t forget them, but remember, this is
a chance for a fresh start; a chance to become
the adult you want to be.
• Don’t take a car:I know, growing up in
Huron County, not having a car seems like the
worst idea in the world but when you have to
walk to the grocery store or get accustomed to
using public transit (a skill that will come in
handy if you stay in a large city) you will find
yourself having all sorts of adventures.
I’m sure if I or any of my five roommates
had a reliable car in our first year of post-
secondary, we would’ve missed out on all sorts
of adventures and discoveries.
Take, for example, the two-hour long walk
two of my roommates ended up going on
when all they really wanted was to pick up
some Kraft Dinner. After that adventure, they
never forgot how to get to the closest grocery
store.
If we had a car, my roommates and I would
not have discovered the amazing farmers’
market just a stone’s throw from our dormitory
that ended up being where we did a good bit of
our shopping.
• Dorm life:Do live in the dorms and, if it’s
possible, live in apartment-style dorms. I can’t
speak to any benefits or evils of dormitory-
style rooms, but I can say that, being one of six
people in four bedrooms taught me a lot about
life. Also, sharing a kitchen/bathroom/living
room with five other people seems smarter to
me than sharing with a whole floor. Finally,
skip the meal plan and learn to cook – serving
poor-man’s pizza (a family recipe) to members
of a group project is how I first got chatting
with my wife.
• Do Orientation Week: Sure, it may seem
a little uncool, but Orientation Week can be a
lot of fun if you go back to that whole re-
inventing yourself spiel.
Not only is this a good chance to get to know
people in your class, it’s also a whole extra
week to get to know your roommates before
you’re thrown into the pressure cooker of
classes.
Next week, I’ll share what I learned about
jobs, classes, procrastination, off-campus
living and learning who your friends are.
Denny
Scott
Denny’s Den
THE CITIZEN, THURSDAY, JUNE 20, 2019. PAGE 5.
In your eyes
In the years since I began writing this
column, it’s not unusual for me to discuss
the bounty we have around us. Whether it’s
local food, people or the natural beauty of the
area, it’s important to celebrate all we have.
With few exceptions, though, I’m preaching
to the choir, as they say. Readers of The
Citizen mostly live in Huron County and if
they don’t, they probably used to. That’s just
the nature of a community newspaper. If
you’re not writing about the people and places
around you, you’re not doing your job.
On June 8, my neighbour Jeff Peters and I
organized a charity bike ride. It was a 10-stop
poker rally that made its way through Blyth,
Londesborough and Walton (you may have
seen coverage of it in last week’s Citizen,
though I always hate “covering” things I’m
involved with, whether it be the cycling team
or my work with the Blyth Lions Club). And
while it raised thousands for the MS Society,
its true legacy may be serving as matchmaker
between dozens of cyclists from London and
Sarnia and Huron County.
Jeff and I served as sweepers (the final
cyclists on the route, ensuring no one is left
behind). Over the course of the day, we got to
talk to many of the cyclists as we travelled the
quiet back roads of the community together.
Seeing our community through their eyes I
rediscovered its beauty and, in a way, felt bad
for taking it for granted all this time.
There wasn’t a stop along the tour – stops
included Cowbell, Blyth Farm Cheese, MGM
Townsend Tire, Marg and Jim Anderson’s
sheep farm, Leadbury Bat Company and
Nostalgic Wood, the Ryan farm (2017
International Plowing Match site), McGavin
Farm Equipment, Keith and Gloria Wilbee’s
garage, the Old Engine House and the Wonky
Frog Studio – that didn’t leave people in awe.
They loved the variety, they loved the stories,
they loved the people and, when it was all said
and done, they loved the community.
People were amazed at the locations, tucked
away on these seldom-driven back roads and
the artistry and talent of the families inside.
Whether it was the brilliance of spots like
Nostalgic Wood, the history behind the Old
Engine House or the sense of place at the Ryan
farm, people left each stop talking with their
fellow cyclists about what they had just seen.
The event raised thousands for the MS
Society and it generated economic spinoff,
whether it was Blyth Farm Cheese sales, hotel
stays or an infusion of cash into the Lions
Club, but it’s that sense of place that will be
etched in the memories of those who rode.
Taking a page from the terroir that inspires
the world’s best chefs who strive to put their
region on a plate to achieve a sense of place,
the ride made me look at Huron County and
ask what we can do that no one else can?
There are likely many answers to that
question. Whether it’s artistry, resilience,
kindness, beauty or the people, this
community has it all and we forget sometimes
that others maybe aren’t as lucky as we are.
That’s not even considering all we didn’t
show the cyclists. At every stop, Jeff and I
were thinking of another stop or two we could
have chosen. We truly have so much.
Jeff and I were proud to show off our
community and its people. We knew the event
would generate interest in this area, but it’s
only when you go around with someone new
to it all and you talk to them and see the region
through their fresh eyes that you realize all
that’s sitting right in front of you.
We live in a special place. Bring someone
new around sometime to help you remember.
Like people, towns and villages have
distinct appearances and personalities.
They are shaped by the sum total of all
the people who live there and all the people
who ever lived there.
Nearly every week in a community
newspaper like The Citizen you can see
“bricks” being put in place that will build the
personality of a community. Last week, for
instance, there was a story on the creation of
the Fairy Door garden tour of Brussels and a
notification of the Memory Garden annual
ceremony of remembrance in Blyth, both fairly
new additions to their communities that, in
each case, were created by a small group of
people.
Physically, the appearance of a community
was shaped by the person or people who chose
to found a village on the particular site. Most
often, because of the need for water power to
run flour, grist and sawmills, Ontario’s
communities are built beside rivers. Some
communities flourished because other
entrepreneurs came along to create additional
reasons for people to build a town. Others, like
the lost villages of Bodmin or Donnybrook,
faded because the wrong site had been chosen
by their founders or enough other business
leaders didn’t share their vision to attract
people to build homes.
The face of a town or village is its main
street which was shaped by the merchants and
local builders of the past who left a legacy of
beautiful (mostly) Victorian architecture. But
while these very visible buildings were
generally the result of choices by one person
regarding what sort of building they wanted,
other landmarks owe their creation to decisions
by larger groups. Churches, whether the
majestic, soaring Victorian edifices or the
simpler modern structures, were shaped by the
opinions of people in the congregations that
built them.
The decision to have a church at all was
originally made by a portion of the pioneers in
a community who felt the need to gather
together to celebrate their spiritual beliefs. The
particulars of those beliefs created the religious
denominations that led to the various churches
being built. Often this was influenced by the
origin of the early settlers. If many Scots
settled in the village or on surrounding
farms, for instance, there was probably a
Presbyterian church. More English residents
might mean Methodist and Anglican churches
were built.
No matter how grand the church buildings
of the past were, they have only remained
because of the efforts of the people who have
kept them alive over the decades by attending
and carrying out tasks like helping at
fundraising dinners. Even a simple decision to
continue going to church can be important to
keeping the church viable in these days when
declining attendance is causing the closure of
many churches.
Communities are shaped by the willingness
of residents to volunteer. The smaller the
community, the stronger volunteerism must be.
As villages grow into towns, and towns into
cities, people are more apt to think
governments can look after community needs,
but people in tiny communities know that if
they want some community facility, like a park
or a swimming pool, it’s only going to happen
if enough people pitch in to make it happen.
Some small communities have a stronger
reputation for volunteerism than others and
generally those that do offer a richer lifestyle
than other communities of similar size. The
future of our small towns will depend on our
ability to inspire each succeeding generation
with the value of volunteerism.
While municipal councils have shaped their
communities over the years, municipal
amalgamation, because of the adoption of
uniform rules, has encouraged a blending of
communities rather than differentiation. It’s the
efforts of community members who keep our
fall fairs alive or organize huge festivals like
the Huron Pioneer Threshers’ Reunion, who
will help maintain the uniqueness of each
community.
Even the bad guys leave their mark on a
community. Recently a group of history buffs
were reminded of a time early in the last
century when an arsonist went on a spree in
Blyth, burning a hotel, a brick yard and other
buildings, changing the face of the village
forever. More recently I heard a story from a
nearby town where a masked person hurled a
brick through the window of a new restaurant
that had been opened by immigrants from
Pakistan. That cowardly act will be part of that
town’s legacy for years.
It isn’t necessary to make grand gestures to
shape a community. The planting of a single
tree may change the appearance, softening the
hard edge of urban concrete. Cutting down a
viable tree may make a street seem naked.
You and all your neighbours help make
your community what it is. Are you adding or
subtracting?
Keith
Roulston
From the
cluttered desk