Scarecrows, Dippy Doughnuts, Gas Fest and a Six-Foot Sturgeon

This is a shiny new feature in Harrowsmith, and we hope to continue to sit down and have several cups of coffee, virtually, with a few locals, Canada’s best small-town ambassadors. When you’re from “away,” wouldn’t it be perfect if you could simply sit down and learn about a tiny town over a cup of coffee with the ones who already know all the best picnic spots and secret bragging points? The stuff that is often overlooked in glossy tourist brochures?

Meet Jenny and Dana … and their take on Selkirk, Ontario.

Hello, I’m Jenny Bryce. I’m originally from Stoney Creek, Ontario, but my husband and I moved to Selkirk lakeshore when we were just 19 and 21, respectively, for the construction of the industries at Nanticoke in December 1973. At that time, I felt like I fell off the edge of the world! After 45 years, raising three children (and becoming grandparents to eight!), that all live local, no one could surgically remove us from here. We have been here so long, people think we areorganizations, and my husband did a 17-year stint as a volunteer firefighter, all while raising our kids, starting a contracting business in the recession of the ’80s, purchasing and renovating local properties, which led us to the world of landlords and several retail operations. At present, my husband still works at our electrical company, which over the years gave many local boys their start in the trade, and now two of our own grandsons are on the payroll, too. Me, I have a retail shop and welcome many travelling construction workers to the town by providing temporary rental accommodations. I also volunteer as the president of the Selkirk Chamber of Commerce. No grass grows on me!