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PODCAST

Bridging the Social Distance

A show that aims to give a platform for sharing ideas, perspectives and feelings in the wake of the Global COVID-19 pandemic. Interviews will feature local Guelphites as well as people living elsewhere around the world. bridgingthesocialdistance.substack.com

society & culture

All Episodes

58:13

Ep 242 - Bill Cunningham (The Village of Riverside Glen)

Bridging the Social Distance ·

2024/07/31

For this episode I interview Bill Cunningham, a younger resident at The Village of Riverside Glen who moved into the facility because he suffers from Epilepsy, and had been living alone, and felt it would be safer to be sure there would be help if he suffered a seizure. Bill talks about his epilepsy, some of the challenges and changes it has meant, his training of his dog Titan, his life before his diagnosis (including his work as a zamboni driver for the University of Guelph), and we spend a lot of

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57:02

241 -The Vaudevillian (Live at the Village of...

Bridging the Social Distance ·

2024/07/26

For this episode I interviewed Norah Spades and Jitterbug James of the band “The Vaudevillian”. The Vaudevillian are a two-piece band covering 1930’s ragtime/blues/jug and/hokum songs, and I caught up with them at their recent performance at The Village of Riverside Glen. Today’s episode features a live recording from their show and a short interview where they share their origin stories, the hustle and grind of busking life that they started in and where they’re headed now. They played this year’s

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59:48

240 - Barb Merkley (The Village of Riverside Glen)

Bridging the Social Distance ·

2024/07/24

For this episode I interview Barb Merkley, a resident at The Village of Riverside Glen. Barb has lived at Riverside Glen for eight years, and she's an integral part of the Village community, with many of the residents and staff feeling like family to her. Her and I became fast friends on our bus trip to the drag races at Grand Bend, and she quickly became a willing guest for radio. Barb shares about Riverside Glen, her friends, and the many activities she's a part of. She shares stories of her

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59:54

Ep 239 - Harry O'Connell (Long-Term Care, The Village...

Bridging the Social Distance ·

2024/07/10

For this episode I interview Harry O'Connell, a resident in Long Term Care at The Village of Riverside Glen. Harry shares many glimpses into different stages of life, from his childhood spent in London and summers in Port Stanley, to joining the military, leaving the military due to a boxing injury, getting married, a long career as a stationary engineer, through to having children (and now five generations with even some great-great grandchildren!!). Harry's life is dramatically different now,

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56:29

Ep 238 - Byron Howat (The Village of Riverside Glen)

Bridging the Social Distance ·

2024/07/03

For this episode I interview David "Byron" Howat, a resident at @The Village of Riverside Glen. Byron talks about his childhood in Saskatewan (including a rebellious/daredevil stage that could have led to him meeting his end!) his career working in Computer Systems, his family, and his 30 years traveling to Cape Breton with his second wife - Byron has a profound love for that place, and it truly became a second home. Thank you Byron for this lovely chat about your past!!This interview was originally

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58:39

Ep 237 - A resident at the Village of Riverside Glen

Bridging the Social Distance ·

2024/06/27

For this episode I interview a resident, who shares her story of being born and raised in Ireland, leaving school at a young age to become a hairdresser, and following that path upon her arrival to Canada as a teenager. Thank you to this resident for being willing to chat with me and share her story!This interview was originally recorded on May 9th, 2024 This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit

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60:00

Ep 236 - Ju Man (Paul) Chen (The Village of Riverside...

Bridging the Social Distance ·

2024/06/07

For this episode I interview Ju Man Chen, a resident at The Village of Riverside Glen. Ju Man is originally from Kolkata, India, and - supported by his daughter Jean - Ju Man shares his story of growing up as part of a small community of Hakka Chinese. He shares of his experiences navigating poverty, and his strong work-ethic, helping to financially support his family by dropping out of school to work at a very young age, and his experience moving with his family to Canada as a young adult. He has

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57:35

Ep 235 - Grace Wilson (The Village of Riverside Glen)

Bridging the Social Distance ·

2024/06/05

For this episode I interview Grace Wilson. Her conversation begins with sharing stories from many adventures traveling across the world, in the company of her daughter and her daughter's wife, two young spontaneous, jet-setting Aerospace engineers. When asked where her daughter's exciting/confident/traveling-lifestyle originated, Grace shares some of her own past, and her incredible route through a lifelong career (largely self-taught) in Optometry - and it's clear that Grace was a role model of

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58:10

Ep 234 - Elizabeth "Betty "Beard (The Village of...

Bridging the Social Distance ·

2024/04/24

For this episode my guest is Elizabeth "Betty" Beard, a resident at The Village of Riverside Glen. Betty has lived closed to 100 years, and shares today about her family, growing up in Toronto and living for a time in Wingham, her musical background, playing the bells, and her family's band "The Beard Family Singers". Thank you Betty for making the time to chat!This interview was originally recorded on April 4th 2024 This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers

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59:40

Ep 233 - Anneke Haan (The village of Riverside Glen)

Bridging the Social Distance ·

2024/04/17

Today I interview Anneke Haan, a resident at The Village of Riverside Glen. Anneke was born in Holland, and moved to Canada when she was three. She grew up in Fergus and Elora, and has lived all around this area, and she shares stories from her journey around these parts, starting a career in nursing before shifting to accounting, and for a time running a crafting/general store in Shellburne. We bond over a shared love of plants, crafts, and spread sheets. She's still adjusting to this new stage of

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60:00

Ep 232 - Elaine Beattie (The Village of Riverside Glen)

Bridging the Social Distance ·

2024/04/08

For this episode I interview Elaine Beattie, a resident at The Village of Riverside Glen. Elaine was born and raised on Prince Edward Island, before the bridge was built. She shares her story of what life was like on the island, then moving to the exciting city of Montreal to become a nurse, starting a family, and later pivoting to become a United Church Minister. Elaine is the president of the Resident's Council, helping to advocate for her fellow residents, and it gives her a great perspective to

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58:38

Ep 231 - Norah Chaloner (The Village of Riverside Glen)

Bridging the Social Distance ·

2024/03/27

For today's episode my guest is Norah Chaloner, a resident at The Village of Riverside Glen. I know today's guest won't be a stranger to many of my long-time Guelphite friends, Guelph history-loving friends, and Guelph artist friends - Norah is an incredible fixture in our community! And it was such a treat talking about the history of Guelph and the surrounding area. She shared many Guelph stories I had never heard before, gave some insights into the possible inspiration for the Blacksmith Fountain

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57:32

Ep 230 - Hearty Missier (Long-Term Care, The Village...

Bridging the Social Distance ·

2024/03/07

For this episode I interview Hearty Missier, a recent resident in Long Term Care at The Village of Riverside Glen. Originally from Sri Lanka, Hearty shares stories from growing up, her challenging home life, and how her strong will and outspoken voice carried her through it. I learned so much about Sri Lanka’s class system, how it affected Hearty’s emigration to Canada, who she was allowed to spend time with, and even wild details such as Hearty not being born in “Sri Lanka”, because she was born in

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59:43

Ep 229 - Bob Seim (The Village of Riverside Glen)

Bridging the Social Distance ·

2024/02/21

Today I had the pleasure of interview Bob Seim, a Guelph-born, history-loving, retired child-psychologist with a myriad of hobbies including horticulture, and maintaining a newsletter devoted to the history of G.C.V.I. I've been very lucky lately with how much of a bond I've been able to form so quickly with my guests - Bob gave me a window into Guelph from his childhood, told through the lens of having grown up in an orphanage, in an era when kids hopped on their bikes and roamed the city till the

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58:44

228 - Roman Kramer (The Village of Riverside Glen)

Bridging the Social Distance ·

2024/02/14

Today I interview Roman Kramer, a resident at The Village of Riverside Glen. I haven't interviewed a lot of folks from Switzerland, and Roman provided a great opportunity for me to learn about Switzerland's history, particularly in relation to WWII. We speak about this, and hear of Roman's journey to Canada, and his successful career as a carpenter, supervising many huge builds in our area. He is also an incredible artist, a car-enthusiast, and we really bonded, as it seems like we have similar ways

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57:35

Ep 227 - Tom Wilson, The Village of Riverside Glen

Bridging the Social Distance ·

2024/01/24

For this episode I interview Tom Wilson, a resident at The Village of Riverside Glen. We kick off our chat talking about Guelph history, sharing where our respective geography crossed paths, at different periods of time. Tom shares some stories from his at-times-challenging-relationship with his many-decade career on the police force, and his frustrated feelings about where he is at this stage of life. It's very important to me that we create space for folks to share complicated and difficult

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58:00

Ep 226 - Jo-Anne Lowden (The Village of Riverside Glen)

Bridging the Social Distance ·

2023/12/27

For this episode I interview Jo-Anne Lowden, a resident at The Village of Riverside Glen. Jo-Anne shares stories of early childhood in northern Ontario, her move to the big city of Hamilton to become a Hairdresser in her youth, and raising a family. Thank you Jo-Anne for sharing your story!This episode was originally recorded on December 12th, 2023 This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit

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58:59

Ep 225 - Norman Coolahan, The Village of Riverside Glen

Bridging the Social Distance ·

2023/12/20

For this episode my guest is Norman Coolahan, a recent resident in Long-Term-Care at The Village of Riverside Glen. Norman had a thirty year career with the TTC in Toronto. So with my background in bus driving, we had a lot to talk about! Listen to learn about the early days of buses and street cars and subways, about Norman’s, life transitioning into Long-Term-Care, and a little about his friend “Freddy” too. Thanks Norman for sharing your story!This interview was originally recorded on Nov 21st,

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58:01

Ep 224 - Ed & Sheila Millar (The Village of Riverside...

Bridging the Social Distance ·

2023/12/01

For this episode I interview Ed & Sheila Millar, a couple living in retirement at The Village of Riverside Glen. They reflect on their early days in Hamilton, growing up just four blocks apart but never meeting until they were adults. Ed paints a picture of the Hamilton mountain when you could still hunt there, and houses were sparse. He's nostalgic for the days before cellphones, and cherishes the wisdom passed down from seniors.This interview was originally recorded on November 14th, 2023 This is

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58:24

Ep 223 - Francoise Dalcourt, Long-Term-Care, The...

Bridging the Social Distance ·

2023/11/21

For this episode I interview Francoise Dalcourt, a resident in Long Term Care at The Village of Riverside Glen. Francoise takes us back through a challenging childhood, falling sick with Polio as a baby, in a huge family of nine, and a very tough home life. But Francoise is a "tough cookie" as she puts it, and through those challenges she shares about the positive times, finding love, moving to Guelph and starting her own family, and how some of the challenges she lived through brought her closer to

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281 results

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