cktimes.ca Archives for Notes from a Garage


Notes from a Garage

With John Gardiner

A little Stargazing, a Wallaceburger on Canadian Idol and Wittich's Bread

Tuesday, May 27, 2003

So, I'm thinking we've finally got SARS under control and now we're gearing up for yet another battle – this time with Mad Cow disease. Anybody getting a little nervous out there? I am. I'm beginning to think that fears about humanity destroying itself with nuclear weapons are unfounded – I have some level of certainty that we're not going to blow up the whole planet. Instead, it might just very well be one of these viruses that strike the whole lot of us down. It seems there's one of these things on the loose on an almost constant basis – so far, we've been able to keep them under control, but maybe we're running out of luck. Maybe the next virus that comes along will be the one that gets away. If you remember, a few weeks ago I was writing about how I felt like I was trapped in a sci-fi movie – well, I'm getting further into the plot with each passing day. And it's a weird feeling. It's also a bit biblical – war and rumours of war and plagues and all that sort of stuff – if there are swarms of locusts this summer, I'd start looking for another planet to inhabit because I'd say we're in trouble.

Wow! What a great Chatham Chamber of Commerce Business After Hours at Stargazers on the Thames last Wednesday evening. As I was driving toward the event, I was thinking that holding the event in an excellent restaurant might mean a few extra guests and the place was indeed packed with business people from across the city. When I was arriving, I walked right into Stargazers' proprietor Michael Hunter, so had a chance to meet that fine gentleman and compliment him on his fine eatery. I also ran into Dan Crawford from Crawford Chrysler and there were John and Ike from Bulldog Graphics, along with John Weese, all there to help promote Bulldog's new business publication, BIZ Magazine. I had a chance to chat with Bob Fox and Cheryl Crawford from the Capitol Theatre and see many other fine folks. I really must say that these Business After Hours are a great opportunity for local business people to get together to do a little much-needed schmoozing and networking. Both the Chatham and Wallaceburg Chambers hold them monthly and most are well-attended and enjoyed by patrons.

And I must say that my first visit to Stargazers prompted a return with my good wife, Carol, following the opening of the High Class Art exhibit at the Chatham Cultural Centre on Sunday afternoon. After my first visit earlier in the week, I was eager to make a return visit when the restaurant was a little less crowded, so off we went for a little dessert and coffee (actually tea). Now, listen, I've got to tell you something – my wife can make some of the most awesome desserts known to man, so Stargazers was in for a big test. We were greeted at the door by Michael Hunter, who I was glad to see again, and escorted to a wonderful table overlooking the Thames River – great view. Carol had the bread pudding and I went for the creme brulee – both were outstanding in terms of taste, but it was the presentation that blew us away – wow, what a sight! So, we left Stargazers talking about a return visit to sample an entree. Great job to Michael and his staff.

I was thrilled this past Friday night when our band played at a benefit at the Oak's Inn. It was our first official gig of the summer and we did okay. Thanks to Greg, Bill and Don for putting up with my impression of a person refusing to grow up. We were performing to help send Wallaceburg's Denise Chatel to a Canadian Idol audition and as part of the evening we backed up Denise in a version of the Janice Joplin classic "Me and Bobbie McGee". And she can really sing that stuff and it prompted me to do my Classic Vinyl on Janice this week. Check it out if you can and best of luck to Denise as she battled 9,000 competitors (!!!!) for a spot on Canadian Idol. I'm not sure what to think of all the hoopla surrounding these "Idol" shows, but I guess if they give young performers a chance to perform, they're okay.

I had an interesting e-mail this week from one of the Festival of Nations organizers. Dennis Tatchell got in touch to talk about promoting some of the Festival events, but what he added at the end of his e-mail really caught my attention. He mentioned Wittich's Bread and the Walker Dairy. Now, you have to be fairly familiar with my home area of Hanover to have knowledge of either of those long defunct establishments. In fact, Dennis told me that he worked for Wittich's Bread in Ayton back in the late 1960's and early 1970's before the place burned to the ground and was never rebuilt. Now I've got to tell you that I thought I'd completely forgotten Wittich's over the last 30 years, but even the mention of its name brought back a flood of warm memories and thoughts about growing up in another era and a simpler time. Thanks for that, Dennis. I wish I could still pick up a loaf of Wittich's Bread and make myself a peanut butter and jam sandwich.

Pretty well out of time for another week.. Hope you're continuing to enjoy cktimes – lots of you are visiting the site each week, so I'm thinking I'm doing okay. Hope you've got your garden planted and your pool open. Happy summering. And remember..."Hew to the line; let the chips fall where they may."




John Gardiner is a 25-year-veteran of the community newspaper business, but he is also a prolific writer of moralistic short fiction he refers to as "emotional thoughtscapes" or "adult fables". Samples of his fiction can be found at:

He has also produced a noteworthy piece of humanist philosophy which can be found at: http://www.xs4all.nl/~aboiten/ad502.htm He welcomes comments on his work.