I just realized I had never added the second part of my interview with Edwin Stelter! So this is the second part of my interview with Edwin Stelter, a resident at The Village of Riverside Glen. Part 1 largely centred around Edwin's memories of being a child during WWII, born in Poland, but of German background, and as such having a complicated and dangerous identity for war times. In part 2 Edwin gives us a glimpse of what came after, his family's emigration to Toronto, and his path to making a success of himself, learning English, working his way up in restaurants, and eventually having a dependable income and supporting his family. Edwin also shares some more recent experiences, navigating his and his wife's decline in health, and how he uses his experience - as as someone who both worked with farm animals and machinery - to better understand the maintenance of his own body. It was such an interesting conversation and I'm very thankful to Ed for spending this time with me!

This interview was originally recorded on November 27th 2025

Today I interview Edwin Stelter, a resident at The Village of Riverside Glen. Over the years I’ve learned a lot about WWII from interviewing veterans, and their children and spouses, speaking about their perspectives from different countries, beliefs, and stages of life. Edwin’s story was a new one for me - his family were Germans, born in Poland, and while the technicality of the border of their country may have not been too significant when he was born, at age seven when WWII started, him and his family became perceived enemies from within their own country overnight. He shares his memories of running, hiding, and many stretches of being separated from his father, with family and friends going missing, or worse. It was a harrowing period of history and Edwin’s recounting of his specific experience is educating, and deeply moving. So much so it became a two part episode! (Part 2 will air next Thursday at noon). Thank you so much to Ed for sharing this with me and opening my eyes to this unique experience. We are so lucky to still have people with us to carry on these stories

This interview was originally recorded on Nov 27, 2025

For this episode I interview Maria Dicks, a resident in Emma‘s Neighbourhood at The Village of Riverside Glen. Maria was so lovely - she had such a radiant personality and sense of fashion, and I loved hearing her stories of growing up near Cornerbrook, Newfoundland. Maria had so many memories to sharing - camping as a child for weeks at a time on the tiny remote islands with her abundance of siblings and parents, her late teen years spent in Montréal, and her years in Toronto where she met her husband to-be- another Cornerbrook native (despite her insistence that she would never marry a Newfoundlander). There are so many good moments and we had such a special bond. I was so happy to meet her! Thank you Maria

This interview was originally recorded on Nov 20, 2025

For this episode I head back to Emma’s Neighbourhood at The Village of Riverside Glen, an area of the building that supports residents with memory care. My guest is Beverley Smith - Beverley has a few specific memories that really stand out for her, and as we sat and looked out her window at the weather changing from sunshine, to a hail storm, and back to sunshine, I got a little glimpse into some of the moments of her life that continue to stand out - her love for her mother, for horses, and for kind neighbours growing up. Interviews at Emma’s are a new challenge for me, it is a delicate process trying to prompt memories without reminding folks that some are harder to access than they once were - I really appreciate these residents sharing their time and space with me and we appreciate listeners giving us the space for these community members to share their stories.

This interview was originally recorded on Nov 13 2025

For this episode my guests are Leona McDermid, a resident at The Village of Riverside Glen, and her daughter Lori-Anne. The two tell stories from Leona’s life, how she met her husband, her first date and the origins of her “butterfly kisses”. They share how the two of them have kept a thread of creativity throughout their professional lives, Leona helping run the family business “McDermid Paper”, Lori-Anne a professional photographer, and the two collaborating at “Doodles”, a gift shop, photography studio and ice cream parlour in Rockwood. Both are examples of strong independent women who have utilized creativity to do amazing things - and this practice dates back generations: Leona’s mom traveled the world during WWII teaching women how to sew, to help them build independent skills to impress their husbands upon their return from the War. Leona’s mom ended up receiving the order of Canada for her work helping Ukranians come over to Canada. These are inspiring and vibrant women with a wonderful mother-daughter dynamic that makes for an entertaining listen, and I had a wonderful time hanging out with them! Thank you Leona and Lori-Anne for sharing!

This interview was originally recorded on Nov 6th, 2025

For this episode, I return to “Emma’s Neighbourhood”, a neighbourhood at The Village of Riverside Glen that supports residents with memory care. My guest in Emma’s is Mary Gibbons - Mary’s relationship with memory was unique for me - she knows she experienced hardship and loss early in life, but while we visited it seemed like her memory spared her a lot of details in a way gives her a buffer from certain heavy feelings. She holds some family members very dear who played a vital role in supporting her, she is surrounded by photographs and cards and letters from family and friends who love her, and it is clear she feels that love. I had a wonderful time sharing space with her and hearing her share windows into her story. Thank you Bryce and Riverside Glen for helping us give more residents from Emma a presence on the radio!

This episode was originally recorded on Oct 30, 2025

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 window observing and learning from the world outdoors, and she was happy to share stories from her past, being born and raised in Guelph, helping out at her grandfather’s store downtown, and her career as a nurse. Thank you Marilyn for sharing your story, and thank you Bryce for helping this happen! We hope to feature more Emma residents in the future.

This interview was originally recorded on Oct 16 2025

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 country on the east side of Guelph. By no means did June go through life without hardship, but it’s clear from her calm and peaceful demeanour that she was drawn to a simple country life, and it was nice to spend a relaxing time with her. Thank you June for sharing your story!

This interview was originally recorded on Oct 9th 2025

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 originally recorded on Sept 18 2025

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 changing health, but her advice is to “go with the flow”. Thanks Carol for your positive attitude and for sharing your story with me!

This episode was originally recorded on Sept 11th 2025