Hello Country Magazine: June 2023

MASTHEAD FIAT LUX CONTRIBUTORS

Roger Tumminieri, Publisher

hellocountrymagazine@gmail.com

Instagram: @hellocountrymagazine (416) 788-0716

Published Monthly by Fiat Lux Media

All rights reserved

Written, Designed & Conceived on Hello Country Farm Flesherton, ON NOC 1E0

Robert Iantorno

www.robertiantorno.ca (Mind Over Motor)

Jason Todoroff www.jtlawyer.ca (Family Matters)

Kevin Arthur Land

www.speakingvolumesbooks.ca (Arts & Culture)

Candace McIntyre www.shine-1-1.ca (Oral Health)

Tyson Rier www.hurontractor.com (Tractor Talk)

John van Goch johnvgoch@gmail.com (Thinking Outside The Blue Box) SUPPORTING

PUBLISHER’S NOTE FOOD & DRINK

Welcome to our Food & Drink edition!

Clearly, this issue is popular among local advertisers. I’ve run out of space to write :)

Please Support Local this summer and, as always, thank you for reading!

Roger Tumminieri, Publisher www.fiatluxmedia.com

(416) 788-0716

ROGER TUMMINIERI

Cover Story

New in Markdale: Scoop Me Up!

Page 8

Local Highlight

Flora Grey

Page 11

Support Local

Éowyns Ice Cream in Durham

Page 14

EXTRA! EXTRA! READ MORE AT www.fiatluxmedia.com

CHERYL’S CHIP WAGON BESIDE MAXWELL MEATS

Grey Rd 4 & 13

If you’re in search of a great Support Local story, look no further...

Scoop Me Up! is the newest business to open in downtown Markdale. Its location is ideal for selling ice cream as it’s situated at the northwest corner of Main Street and Highway 10. There’s ample free parking and patio seating in the heart of the town’s centre. Local owners Justine and David Goudy, who also own the fantastic toy shop across the street, PJ Knickerbockers, and David’s brother, Stephen, have done wonders to bring ice cream to Markdale. Which, if you know Markdale, is quite ironic considering it’s the home of the largest independent ice cream producer in Canada, namely Chapman’s.

“We wanted to bring people back together and be able to meet again, have a nice treat and catch up with friends from around town,” explains Justine. “We wanted to bring the sense of community back to Markdale.”

Give the people what they want and you’ll do well in business. In this case, the people want ice cream. And now they have it in Markdale!

“How more local can it be when the ice cream you buy is made in your own town?!” Justine asks. “Chapman’s is the best ice cream on the market and it is made right here!”

Scoop or Soft Serve, Scoop Me Up! has a great assortment of flavours from which

to choose. Their prices are great and they even offer a 10% discount off children’s cones when they come after their game or practice still wearing their uniform!

What a great way to re-build togetherness in our community.

Justine, David and Stephen feel strongly about supporting local and do their part to purchase as much as they can from local shops.

“Supporting local to me means that you buy from local businesses and help them to stay open,” says Justine. “$10 spent in a local store might make the difference between them staying open or not. A big box store, spending that $10 or not, will not impact them the same way it would a local business.”

Scoop Me Up! is open 7 days a week!

For now, they’re open Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday 6-9 PM, Thursday and Friday 3-9 PM, Saturday and Sunday 2-8 PM with the possibility of extended hours come summertime.

As Markdale continues to grow, attracting more and more people with its quaint, small-town charm and community vibes, Scoop Me Up! will be there to lend a helping hand; holding ice cream, of course.

SCOOP ME UP!

10 Main St. West, Markdale (back unit facing Hwy 10)

By: Roger Tumminieri

774107

(519) 924-2080

www.theburgerguru.ca

FAMILY MATTERS DO NOTHING

Contribute to a healthy environment, biodiversity, and aid conservation efforts by doing nothing. Intrigued? Read on.

The Nature Conservancy of Canada along with other environmental and conservation groups are asking Canadians not to mow their lawns for the month of May. This campaign has gained momentum as the “No Mow May” movement. By delaying mowing your lawn you are helping insects such a butterflies, ants, bees, and other pollinators that are necessary for the production of healthy plants, including many crops. I realize that by the time readers see this, it will be June, so please keep this in mind for next year. So far, I have been able to hold off, but with all the rain we have been getting my yard is starting to look like a hay field. Don’t feel bad if you didn’t make it to the end of the month, though. The No Mow May promoters have also said that a Slow Mow May also yields benefits. Alter-

natively, Slow Mow May encourages people to hold off on that first mow of the season until the latter half of May, preferably the last week in the month. While I may be complaining about the rain, at least so far it has been a “No Snow May”.

JASON TODOROFF

Hwy 10, Flesherton

Every first Thursday of the month at 8 p.m, something subversive goes on in a little-known bookstore in the village of Markdale. There, a group of eleven or so writers gather to offer each other encouragement and critiques, exchange ideas, engage in a writing exercise or two and even, if the moon is just so, share their work. Together, they form the “Markdale Writers’ Group”. It is by no means a homogenous entity. Although each member might be there for a different reason, the commonly held belief among them is that the act of writing creatively fulfills a personal need.

Michelle, one of the group’s co-founders, views the writing process as the means through which she can weave some of her darker insights into a positive storyline that will ultimately take the form of a children’s book. The other co-founder, Suzi, also hopes to write children’s books, but her desire to do so is more a response to the lack of quality she frequently finds in the ones she reads to her children. The pair realized there may be other writers in the community looking for an outlet to help create and discuss their work.

Jackie finds that meeting with the group helps “to harness my creativity in new and exciting ways”. In the case of Janet, inspiration comes from within, where the craft resides, and she lets her imagination flow through whatever paths it may wish to take. Randy prefers to observe the real world, taking as his catalyst real events or conversations and subjecting them to a “what if” exercise. Tracey was born on Hallowe’en night, and therefore she believes herself to be a writer by destiny. She has never had a problem coming up with ideas but getting them down on paper has always been the challenge. For her, it’s all about revision, and constant rereading and rewriting is the key to success. Everyone places great emphasis on developing the necessary discipline to complete a project. Yvonne finds that the accountability a monthly meeting provides is perfect and helps her to focus more keenly on her creative efforts.

Some of the members of the group already have completed projects behind them. Tara has written a novel entitled “Age of the Almek” (available on Amazon) and re-

sponds positively to the sense of community and friendship she has encountered in the group. James is working on his second novel and loves the brainstorming component that occurs in each meeting as well as the tips and suggestions that come out around marketing.

The job of a writer is indeed a solitary one, and each of the members of the Markdale Writer’s Group has found the experience of getting together a positive one. Even though there have only been three meetings so far, many of those in attendance have become fast friends. Although the group is not looking to expand, Michelle has offered to help give another group a jump start. Any takers, Grey County?

By: Kevin Land

LOCAL HIGHLIGHT FLORA GREY

Like food, local flowers have the potential to deepen our connection with the inherent seasonality of our lives. From ranunculus in spring, to dahlias in the fall, to enjoy their ephemeral nature is to savour each fleeting moment.

I came to flowers through my curiosity for the natural world. After spending our honeymoon year working on small-scale organic farms across Ireland, we were compelled to move to rural Ontario.

We began growing a small kitchen garden and flowers in the backyard of our half-acre lot in Maxwell. We soon outgrew the backyard and dug up the front lawn. We now live and grow on our farm just outside Holland Centre.

Unlike many imported flowers, our blooms are free from chemicals, pesticides and labour exploitation; and because our flowers are not traveling long distances, we are able to grow and share with you very special and unique varieties.

You can order bouquets and buckets of blooms from us directly at floragrey.ca, or come say hi this summer at the Garage13 July market in Eugenia.

Summer’s in full swing and many contractors and homeowners are gearing up for the busy season ahead. With our John Deere mini excavator lineup, we have a machine for every job and they’re backed by the best parts and service team in the industry.

It’s still no secret that inventory supply is tight. At Huron Tractor, we like to encourage a proactive approach. Let’s have the conversation early to ensure the equipment is ready when the time comes. John Deere is continuing to offer unmatched ability at a competitive price.

With many options available such as cabs, thumbs and a wide variety of other attachments, we can equip a machine for every job. With the 2-year, 2,000 hour warranty, we can eliminate out-of-pocket expenses.

Stop in and see which John Deere mini excavator is the right machine for you.

TYSON RIER, Salesman

Huron Tractor - Chatsworth (226) 668-2063

TYSON RIER

ORAL HEALTH WITH CANDY MCINTYRE

CANDY MCINTYRE

Summer’s in the air, and with that comes lots of gatherings and yummy BBQ foods and drinks. Did you know that not only what you eat and drink can affect the health of your teeth, but WHEN and how often you eat/ drink is a huge factor as well?!

Everyone knows sugar is not great for our teeth, but do you know why? We all have normal flora bacteria living on our teeth and gums, but there can be a small population of “bad” bacteria as well which LOVE SUGAR as much as you and I. When bad bacteria colonies in your mouth (plaque)

consume the sugar we eat, they create a by-product which that puts our mouths in an acidic state for 30 minutes after we eat sugar (“acid attack”). Normally the enzymes in our saliva will neutralize this acidic state after approximately 30 minutes, but if we keep eating and drinking sugary foods/ beverages (which can already be acidic to begin with) then our mouth stays in that acidic state because the saliva can’t keep up. The enamel can become weakened and with repeated acid attacks a cavity can form. It’s ideal to give your mouth a break between carb heavy and sugary meals/ drinks to balance out the pH of our oral environment to prevent cavities.

Remember to choose water as the beverage of choice to sip on throughout the day, and limit sugary drinks (drink them fast if you do have a sugary drink).

Candy McIntyre

Registered Dental Hygienist with Shine-1-1 Mobile Dental Hygiene

www.shine-1-1.ca

(519) 373-3519

For over 20 years we have talked about opening a little staple ice cream shop in a small town. We lived in a few over the years and it always seemed very hallmark to see all the people crowd around a smalltown shop eating ice cream and laughing.

The last few years we had to make some big family decisions. One of which landed us in Durham. We were lucky enough to have met an amazing community of people in such a short time and we knew instantly that we were here to stay. After 2 years of being in Durham we were out for a walk and saw the sign for rent and I immediately called to see it. I’m not even sure why. I had no idea until I saw it and it was BAM - this is our ice cream shop!

We were very scared and nervous, but we all agreed that not only did the town need something, so did we. We wanted to be that place people went to where they walked in and felt welcome and known on a first name basis. ‘Hey, Sue! The usual?’ That kind of a place.

We asked around and with the added community encouragement we decided to go for it and we are so happy we did. Seeing the faces and smiles from the people and families that come in is the best.

Before this, I was a stay at home mom. Justin works in transportation. We faced financial insecurities due to lack of work back in the city, so we took a leap of faith moving to a small town.

We’re a small family who took a big risk.

With the help of our great community’s Support Local mentality we have been able to flourish in such a short time. We knew that investing in our community was going to be amazing but never in a million years did we think it would have turned out this way. Some days were very slow in the beginning - sitting alone in the shop thinking to myself, taking deep breaths, making notes, and writing words of encouragement not to give up.

To us, Support Local means supporting all things local, not just shops but people, too. We’re parents and we know the pressures

that come with raising children. So when we’ve been given the opportunity to help a mom or a dad out with something as small as an ice cream cone for their child (we hear too often: “I don’t have the money right now”), we don’t think twice. Here you go. Enjoy the cone! We never let the kids know that mom or dad didn’t pay for it. Mom and dad get to be the best mom and dad in that moment, a family makes memories, and we were able to support local. Supporting small businesses and families within our community means everything to us.

Since we scoop the ice cream and make the milkshakes, we have so much passion to see something in the community thrive and be here for years to come. It’s truly a labour of love. We always say we hope to one day leave this for the kids to continue what we started. Just imagine the stories they would have, being around 20 years from now!

We hope that Éowyns becomes a staple in the West Grey community - the littlest ice cream shop - a place that is run by a small, local family. We are very excited for our first summer and all the excitement it will bring.

The McCords

Shannon, Justin, Jaden & Éowyn