Local Business Episodes

My favourite thing about the podcast is when we have the chance to get to know people better and make new friends as a result of it. It happened again this week as we dug in a little with Steve & Mary from Steve & Mary’s OTS in Goderich. It’s a place I’ve eaten often and I love the casual, comfort food environment and the overall vibe which is just so welcoming.  Where they grew up, childhood dreams, how they met and how they ended up owning a restaurant in the prettiest town in Canada. We’ll find out all of that and how they manage to run a successful business while still offering themselves up to the community in so many amazing ways. All the highs and lows of restaurant life this time around on A Life That’s Good.

A couple of months ago when I said goodbye to my radio career in Wingham, I mentioned that I'd left a few doors open. Were my intentions to retire? Well, yes but I was also aware that I love doing radio and I knew if I had a chance again someday, I might take it. I didn't think anyone would knock quite so quickly though. It was Nick Cadotte, manager of Shoreline Classics offering me a perfect opportunity to slow down a little without actually having to give up completely, something I truly love to do. Nick joins me today along with Shoreline Morning Man, Roland Archer to talk about our shared love of radio, how Shoreline came to be, their respective journeys and our mutual passion for community!

Ever since my youth when I was a paperboy on Mary Street in Goderich, I've loved a good newspaper. They don't hold place in our world anymore with the advent of so much digital media and I get that the world is ever evolving, but to me, there's still nothing quite like holding real pages. Today we're going to talk about a great local paper that yes, you can read online, but it's also a rare, independent, community-owned newspaper, serving Huron County, that you can still hold a physical copy of....

I have so many good memories of the White Carnation in Holmesville. As a youth, I remember it as a place for wedding receptions, anniversary and birthday parties and the best place for an old fashioned roast beef dinner! It also turned into a great spot, for a kid trying to put himself through radio college, to earn a few bucks disc jockeying one of those events. When my old friend Heather Glenister called and told me she was working with Habitat for Humanity Huron County and that they had a fundraiser happening there and would I come sing and play ... it seemed like a perfect opportunity to do a little twofer In this episode we going to talk about The White Carnation then & now AND get the lowdown on an amazing charitable organization dedicated to improving lives through affordable homeownership. It's all win/win this week with Heather from Habitat Huron and the White Carnation's Corinne Bos.

Golf is one of my favourite pastimes although I don't play nearly as often as I'd like too and maybe for that reason, I don't play nearly as well as I'd like to ;) It can be social or not, it's great low impact exercise and it's something you can do at almost any age. In this episode, a chat with Gary and Lynne Gravett who owned and operated Goderich Sunset Golf Course for many years. It's probably the course I've played most in my lifetime whether with friends or in any one of many charity gol...

It's that time of year again when most of us just can't wait to get outside and get all the pretty things growing again. As sometimes happens, a small labour of love can grow into a force to be reckoned with and such is the case with Greyhaven Gardens. It began more than 34 years ago as a small vegetable growing operation and greenhouse and has evolved into a MUCH larger and well loved independent, family run, garden centre. This week we're chatting with owner Michelle Greydanus about: humble beginnings, surprise careers, family, flowers, workshops, Mother's Day, Christmas, the new store, the future and ... Beavertails? Join us for a fun and enlightening chat about this beautiful oasis in Londesboro.

Milli had an idea to create a few podcasts under the sub-heading of "Pockets of Peace." To seek out some hidden, peaceful gems in Midwestern Ontario and I loved the idea. I'm sure it's no coincidence that the first place we thought of was Bayfield Lavender. We'd set out on a bit of a photo adventure one day last summer and through a series of fortunate events, ended up at this beautiful oasis just outside of Bayfield on Porter's Hill Line. We could feel the anxiety leaving our bodies as we strolled about this peaceful, sustainable, small scale lavender farm. We're excited to share it with you today as we sit down for a chat with owner operator, farmer, creator ... Gemma James Smith.

It's hard to believe that though I performed in the lounge there for 12 years, it' now been 27 years since I last sang at beautiful Benmiller Inn. I will be forever grateful for the people I met and the memories I made in that wonderful refuge and especially for the memories Milli and I made there together last May, when we celebrated our wedding brunch there. Our guests this week are Sales & Marketing Manager, Linda Street and General Manager, Monique Wijnsma. I hope you'll join us as we chat...

I first knew Glen McNeil as my best pal's Uncle when I was a kid growing up on Mary Street in Goderich. My buddy Neil often invited me to his grandparents farm north of Goderich, to catch frogs in the crick and watch his Uncle Glen milk cows. These days, many people know Glen and Vanda McNeil for their dairy operation, Heather Holme Holsteins. Many more have come to know Glen as the Warden of Huron County for the past three years. In this episode: * A bit about the history of this amazing dai...

Milli and I love to buy and prepare food together, particularly when we can find time to hit up a Farmer's Market and grab the produce fresh! A basket of snap peas in Milli's hands will not make it home. This week we chat with two friends, Chris Spaleta and Katrina McQuail about their respective lives in farming and about an organization they helped start called Eat Local Huron, which in many ways, can bring the Farmer's Market, right to your door. It was a highly enjoyable discussion for Mill...

We've enjoyed their wood fired pizza at different festivals over the years but when Milli and I showed up at Grass Roots Farm recently, we were genuinely surprised at everything we discovered. It's a beautiful spot, a lot more than pizza ... and in this episode we want you to discover it too. We're going to dig into all that you'll find at Grass Roots Farm (especially the pizza) with co-founder Vicki Morrison and her daughter-in-law Courtney Morrison.

Fresh, locally grown food. It's the thing we do best around here. Thank you Farmers. I have a picture I love of my three kids picking strawberries at Morrisons Berries when they were little. It's not that it's a great photograph but it reminds me of the joy they were feeling as they picked: one for the basket, and one for them ... one for the basket and another one for them ... you know the routine ;) My guest this week is Emily Morrison of Morrison Berries. We will talk all about the Morriso...

This show is called "A Life That's Good" ... and focuses on things that have made life and my career in radio so incredible for close to 40 years. There's no way I could do that without talking to my guest today. He has been such an important part of almost my entire career in radio. On this episode, my friend Paul Dekker and I will talk about our 30+ year history of doing radio ads together. We'll chat about the history of Conway Furniture, the family and extended family ... and all the ups and...

Some claim that Queen Elizabeth II once commented that Goderich was "the prettiest town in Canada" although to my knowledge ... no reigning monarch has ever visited the town on the shores of beautiful Lake Huron. And whether you choose to think of it as the prettiest town in Canada, the town with incredible sunsets ... the town with an octagon in the middle that we call a square but you drive around in a circle ... or resilient or friendly or (insert your adjective here) ... I will always just ...

Believe it or not, I used to be young. Whenever we studied Shakespeare in high school, I would wonder how language could have possibly changed so much in just a few hundred years. Now that I'm a little older, I have to smile everytime I hear a word or phrase I've never heard before. Language is constantly changing and every generation seems to take it another few steps into the future ... for better or for worse. This week Milli and I talk quickly about some phrases that Boomers use that Gen Z d...

May is a time to plant! Thanks to our friend Ally Anderson for suggesting we check in with Claire and Andy Roest from Birch Creek Greenhouse & Florals just North of Goderich to get to know them a little and talk about flowers and planting. It's such an exciting time of year as our lawns and gardens all come back to life and of course a big time of year for flowers, especially with Mother's Day coming! We're celebrating that, by kicking off the podcast this week with a quick check in with my m...

A few years ago I got a message wondering how I was coping after a huge fundraising effort I'd been a part of. I, along with an incredible team of support staff and friends had run 120k spread over 5 consecutive days, to raise awareness for 5 mental health organizations in Midwestern Ontario. The training and planning had consumed my life for a couple of months prior. I told her I was fine. She asked again, "How are you ... really?" I was in fact not fine. I was dealing with post show blues ... ...

I've been loving this place for a few years now so it's exciting to finally have owners Ben & Bri Gingerich in our studio to chat about Coastal Coffee. We will get to know them both a little better as we discuss Coastal's incredibly unique location, dreams past and present and of course, coffee!

Podcats? ... A Freudian slip, maybe ... ;) In this episode, Milli joins us for the first time. We will explore some of the dynamic between Boomers and Millennials ... some things we might question about each other ... and one thing we totally agree on (albeit at different levels ;)) and that is a love of our cats and animals in general. We welcome special guest Kathi Newell-Nicholson from Adopt-a-Pet Pet Rescue in Lucknow, Ontario. FYI - Tuesday 11th, is National Pet Day!

It's a fascinating place at the corner of 4 & 25 in the middle of nowhere ... and I love it! Check my Photoblog at Cool945.ca to see pics of some of what were discussing this week and to get a better feel for beautiful Cowbell Brewing Company in Blyth.

A quick intro to the podcast and then a wonderful conversation with Karen Middleton-Meadham and Gerrit Sepers of Brod Bread & Pastry in Blyth and Chris Neamtu from Culbert's Bakery in Goderich. As we set off on this 65 week adventure to celebrate good things in Midwestern Ontario, we acknowledge that life is short ... eat dessert first.