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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

49:05

Ep 281 - Marilyn Yates (The Village of Riverside...

Bridging the Social Distance ·

2025/10/29

For this episode I interview Marilyn Yates, a resident at The Village of Riverside Glen. Marilyn resides in “Emma’s neighbourhood” at Riverside Glen, which is the area of the building dedicated to Memory Care. I was really honoured to get to share the stories of a resident in this part of the building - consent, editing, and sharing are all things to be carefully held when navigating challenges with memory. Marilyn was very sweet, she loves her daughter and her son and law, loves sitting by the

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59:43

Ep 280 - June Weiler (The Village of Riverside Glen)

Bridging the Social Distance ·

2025/10/22

For this episode I interview June Weiler, a resident at The Village of Riverside Glen Retirement facility. June was born and raised in Guelph, which always gives me fun opportunity to talk about historic stores and buildings from days gone by. She shares of her career at Royal Knitting (where her mother and father both worked too) and her Saturdays as a child making the rounds of downtown Guelph. She also reflects fondly on her summer road trips to Wasaga Beach, and of raising a family out in the

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55:43

Ep 279 - Femmy Vandervelde (The Village of Riverside...

Bridging the Social Distance ·

2025/10/08

For this episode I interview Femmy Vandervelde, a new resident at The Village of Riverside Glen. Femmy reflects on her childhood in Holland during the German occupation, her family’s move to Canada as a teenager, her education and career in nursing and how her life changed during the years, which included years on a farm, in the city, and eventually here in Guelph. Femmy shows off her knitting (I’d never heard of a “twiddle muff”!) and we had a lovely time. Thank you Femmy!This interview was

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50:13

Ep 278 - Carol Kerklaan (The Village of Riverside Glen)

Bridging the Social Distance ·

2025/09/26

For this episode I interview Carol Kerklaan, a resident at The Village of Riverside Glen. It wasn’t Carol’s idea to move into a care facility, but she’s accepting this new chapter with grace - she shares stories from growing up, working at GM where her grandfather was the president, meeting her husband (an Engineer) and his career designing many award-winning patents. Carol was quite the athlete, and we bond over a shared love of basketball. Lots has changed for Carol in recent years, navigating

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44:16

Ep 277 - Suzanne Ashton (The Village of Riverside Glen)

Bridging the Social Distance ·

2025/09/16

For this episode I interview Suzanne Ashton, a resident at The Village of Riverside Glen. Suzanne is one of the younger residents I've met at Riverside Glen, having moved into the village to be safe and supported while navigating her health journey living with Myotonic Dystrophy, a form of Muscular Dystrophy. Suzanne has to move at a careful pace, picking and choosing her activities, but has jumped right into village life, recently becoming co-chair of the "Residents Committee" and recently

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43:59

Ep 276 - Bernadette McKay (Long-Term Care, The...

Bridging the Social Distance ·

2025/07/30

For this episode I interview Bernadette McKay, a resident in Long-Term-Care at The Village of Riverside Glen. Bernadette shares the many places she's lived throughout southern Ontario, her history of her family in Slovenia and Austria, and her current days at Riverside Glen. She's a happy woman with endearingly specific memories, and definitely a sense of humour. It was a pleasure to meet her!This interview was originally recorded on July 17, 2025 This is a public episode. If you would like to

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59:00

Ep 275 - Adriaan Sizoo (Director of Landscaping and...

Bridging the Social Distance ·

2025/07/23

For this episode I interview Adriaan Sizoo, director of Landscaping and Exterior Maintenance for Schlegel Villages. Adriaan has been helping design and implement and maintain the gardens and outdoor spaces at all of the 18 Schlegel Villages retirement and long-term care facilities for about seven years now, and we met up at The Village of Riverside Glen, where Adriaan took me on a tour through the flower, vegetable, and pollinator gardens, the bee boxes, and the Koi pond. Adriaan speaks passionately

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53:38

Ep 274 - Jeanne "Jean" Newcombe (The Village of...

Bridging the Social Distance ·

2025/07/16

For this episode I interview Jeanne (Jean) Newcombe, a new resident at The Village of Riverside Glen. Jean shares about her Dutch heritage, her recent move from Chatham, and tells us all about her children and grandchildren, which are a beloved part of her life. Thank you Jean for sharing today!This interview was originally recorded on July 3, 2025 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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53:18

Ep 273 - Marilyn Gifford (The Village of Riverside Glen)

Bridging the Social Distance ·

2025/07/09

For this episode I’m joined by my son Otis, and we interview Marilyn Gifford, a new resident at The Village of Riverside Glen. Marilyn watches her neighbour garden outside her window, as she shares how she’s feeling at this stage of life and how she feels about Guelph continuing to grow, and about some of her days gone by. Marilyn wasn’t expecting this interview, so we appreciate her being up for it! Thank you Marilyn!This interview was originally recorded on June 25th, 2025 This is a public

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98:52

Ep 272 - Charles "Chuck" Marino (The Village of...

Bridging the Social Distance ·

2025/06/20

For this episode I interview Charles "Chuck" Marino, a brand new resident at the Village of Riverside Glen. At 83, Chuck has a ton of incredibly detailed memories, and gives us a glimpse all the way back to his own grandfather's childhood in Italy. From stories of betrothed "white widows", to his father the military surgeon, through his own life working as a prof in Psychology and conflict resolution, and the current state of his health, Chuck has so much tell us - so much so that we made this a

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49:57

Ep 271 - George Vos (The Village of Riverside Glen

Bridging the Social Distance ·

2025/06/11

For this episode I interview George Vos, a recent new resident at The Village of Riverside Glen. George kicks off our interview with an enthusiastic recounting of his recent adventure to a Toronto Maple Leafs game - a heck of a welcome into the Riverside Glen family! From there we jump back to the past, his working life, and his childhood in Holland during the German occupation during WWII and the harrowing moments he remembers from that time. George has an incredibly positive and grateful attitude

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55:53

Ep 270 - Judy Maddren

Bridging the Social Distance ·

2025/06/03

For this episode I interview Judy Maddren - Judy is a University of Guelph and CFRU alumni who went on to work in professional radio with the CBC. In more recent years she’s run a project called “Soundportraits” where she records interviews to help people tell their life stories. The parallels between the type of work Judy and I have done made this a highly intriguing interview for me, and I’m very glad Alumni Affairs connected us! Thank you Judy for taking the time and traveling to me at the

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59:33

Ep 269 - Glenna Ratcliff (The Village of Riverside Glen)

Bridging the Social Distance ·

2025/05/28

For this interview I speak with Glenna Ratcliff, a resident at The Village of Riverside Glen. Glenna speaks about her transition into her new home in a retirement facility. We talk about her childhood, her baby years in Cape Breton with a father gone to war, and the subsequent years of a strong and independent working mother. Glenna speaks fondly of her children, one of whom is a local artist, and while Glenna doesn’t necessarily self-identity as an artist herself, her appreciation for art and

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43:49

Ep 268 - Vera Speers (The Village of Riverside Glen)

Bridging the Social Distance ·

2025/05/14

For this episode I interview Vera Speers, a resident at The Village of Riverside Glen. Vera loves her giant family, and expresses how happy she is that they are all leading fulfilling lives, but is honest about how much she misses them too. Our chat looks back at a childhood in Saskatchewan, a young adulthood raising four children, and a career working for Guelph Hydro. All throughout Vera straddles the line of balancing reminiscing, nostalgia, with the reality that her memories can make her a bit

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57:44

Ep 267 - Shirley Petersen (The Village of Riverside...

Bridging the Social Distance ·

2025/05/07

For this episode I chat with Shirley Petersen, a resident at The Village of Riverside Glen. We talk about different parts of her life, and her hobbies, her knitting and crocheting and her career as a teacher, her traveling for a Mission in Taiwan in retirement, and her childhood spent with her grandparents on Lake Erie. It was a lovely chat and I appreciate her sharing with me today!This interview was originally recorded on April 24th, 2025 This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this

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49:57

Ep 266 - Egil Rasmussen (The Village of Riverside Glen)

Bridging the Social Distance ·

2025/04/23

For this episode my guest is Egil Rasmussen, a resident at The Village of Riverside Glen. Egil shares memories from his home country of Denmark, his childhood during the war, his year enlisted in the military, and his career as a brick layer in Denmark, then Canada, before moving onto other careers. We bond over our respective travels across Canada and shared love on the east coast in particular. Thank you Egil for sharing your story!This interview was originally recorded on April 10th 2025 This is

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58:09

Ep 265 - Valeria Krotky (The Village of Riverside Glen)

Bridging the Social Distance ·

2025/04/10

For this episode I interview Valeria Krotky, a new resident at The Village of Riverside Glen. Valeria is 94, and taught piano for over fifty of those years. She even teaches me a bit of piano during our interview! It is a true lifelong passion for her, and I had the pleasure of getting to hear her play, and record it, so you'll get to enjoy that on today's episode too. She shares about the piano and her passion for music, which she likely inherited from her father, who led an Orchestra. She talks

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58:14

Ep 264 - Jean Root (The Village of Riverside Glen)

Bridging the Social Distance ·

2025/04/08

For this episode I interview Jean Root, a resident at The Village of Riverside Glen. Jean takes us on a journey through her life, her career in nursing, her life on her family's farm where she raised two children and her husband did body work on cars. She shares of her myriad of health issues, and her subsequent arrival to the Village of Riverside Glen where she trying to adjust to a new stage of life. Jean is lovely, and it was nice to meet her, and her cat! Thank you Jean for sharing!This

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54:11

Ep 263 - Jane Mulcahey (The Village of Riverside Glen)

Bridging the Social Distance ·

2025/03/12

For this episode I interview Jane Mulcahey, a resident at The Village of Riverside Glen. We talk about Jane’s career as a teacher, and how teaching held a place in her life beyond the years of it being a profession. She shares about her musical and artistic husband and children, and her own visual art, and singing (she is part of the Riverside Glen choir). We also navigate Jane’s memory, and the way it’s changing, with some things being difficult to place that once came with more ease. I appreciate

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59:55

Ep 262 - Michael Berry (The Village of Riverside Glen)

Bridging the Social Distance ·

2025/03/06

For this episode I interview Mike Berry, a resident in Long-Term Care at The Village of Riverside Glen, who shares about his career as a teacher of Geography and communications technology, his lifelong route to becoming a teacher, and how tech and it's role changed over time. He also shares in detail about his beloved hobby of coin collecting - I learned a lot, about something I knew almost nothing about! Mike also shares a bit about his challenging health journey, and how it has brought him for now

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281 results

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