Local Ice Cream Parlour Celebrates 125th Anniversary

Central Smith Creamery celebrates their 125th anniversary with one-dollar vanilla ice cream cones this Saturday which is considered National Ice Cream Day weekend.

(left to right) Jillian Scates, project manager and co-owners Ian and Jennifer Scates are part of three generations who have been involved with Central Smith Creamery. Photo by David Tuan Bui

The price is a throwback to when the Scates family purchased the business in 1978 and sold ice cream scoops at that price. They chose vanilla as ice cream’s oldest flavour to commemorate the milestone.

"It's a true honour,” said Ian Scates, co-owner of Central Smith. “Sometimes you kind of have to pinch yourself to realize that you've literally been here before cars existed. It's a bit surreal to think that it's been around as long as it has.”

Ian Scates describes working at Central Smith the “longest summer job” of his life. Photo by David Tuan Bui

“Sometimes in life, it's really important to stop and celebrate the milestones,” said Jennifer Scates, co-owner of Central Smith. “The business of life gets us not thinking about the important things and it's important to recognize where we were, where we're going to, celebrate our employees who have helped us along the way and just pause and reflect.”

Central Smith Creamery has over 70 flavours of ice cream where some come in and out of rotation depending on popularity. Photo by David Tuan Bui.

The business has had three generations of the Scates working at Central Smith. Ian’s father, James Scates purchased the business back from the Andrews family in 1978 where Ian first helped the business in 1979. Since then, Ian has been working at Central Smith for 42 years.

His daughter, Jillian Scates graduated in business from Dalhousie University in April 2016 and joined the business starting at the bottom. She has worked her way through as a sales analyst and now as a project manager.

“There's a lot of pride in that we've been able to keep going with the legacy,” said Jennifer. “This place is still in the same place 125 years ago.”

Some of creamery’s top flavours are Algonquin Canoe, Lavender Lemonade and Monster Cookie. Photo by David Tuan Bui.

New this year is Central Smith merchandise for sale such as reusable water bottles, caps and t-shirts. A colouring contest to design your own ice cream flavour is part of the milestone celebrations. Customers can pick up a colouring sheet and submit their designs to the store by Aug. 1.

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Kawartha TV & Stereo Celebrates 50th Anniversary With Ribbon-Cutting Ceremony

The giant scissors were out to cut the ribbon to celebrate Kawartha TV & Stereo’s 50th anniversary on Monday morning.

(left to right) MPP Dave Smith, owner Glenn Stuart, general manager Scott Stuart and Mayor Diane Therrien holding the ribbon as it gets cut to commemorate the store’s milestone. Photo Courtesy of Kawartha TV & Stereo.

In attendance were Peterborough-Kawartha MPP Dave Smith and Mayor Diane Therrien to commemorate the event. Owner Glenn Stuart and general manager Scott Stuart — who are brothers — had the honours of cutting the ribbon with giant scissors to celebrate the store’s milestone and community involvement.

“We have been a huge supporter of local for years and years and years since day one,” said Scott. “We’ve very proud of that and we will continue that for as long as we can.”

“We all do business with each other,” said Glenn. “We buy from those businesses back and forth and that’s one of the things we do in a small-town atmosphere.”

The store has been reputable for supporting the local communities and city officials have noticed the business’s contribution to Peterborough.

Smith gave a certification to the electronics store to mark the occasion. He mentioned that Kawartha TV & Stereo was one of the first places he visited and made a purchase since moving to Peterborough in 1981.

“The service you have provided has been fantastic,” he said. “It’s a testament to what you have done to this community, the fact that you’ve been here for 50 years.”

“There’s a reason people keep coming back,” said Therrien. “I can’t wait to be here for another 50 years.”

Kawartha TV & Stereo opened in 1971 with 600 square ft. of space on Charlotte Street before moving down the same road with 800 square ft. The store moved again in the mid-1980s to its current location on the corner of Lansdowne Street and Park Street which is known as the “Bargain Corner.”

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PTBOCanada Celebrates Its 11th Anniversary With New Studio Plans

To celebrate the 11th anniversary of PTBOCanada on Thursday, owner Kirtus Evoy has announced that the company will have a new studio and office on Hunter Street on August 1.

PTBOCanada has over 74,000 social fans spread across several social media outlets such as Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. (rendering of New Space)

The property is owned by Ashburnham Realty and will be in the heart of East City. The PTBOCanada staff are excited and eager to move into the new office.

“The space will allow us the digital growth of our team and our product offerings. We wanted to do it in a vibrant area such as East City. We have some more big plans over the summer and we’re looking forward to growing with Peterborough.”

“The new office is going to open up a world of opportunities and creative outlets for PTBOCanada moving forward,” said David Tuan Bui, PTBOCanada editor. “We can have guests in the studio for interviews, we’ll have a wonderful atmosphere and we’re basically right in the heart of Peterborough doing it all.”

Former owner and co-founder Neil Morton expressed his congratulations for the company’s milestone after owning the business for over a decade back in 2010 in a Facebook post.

Since the new ownership, Evoy retained brand strategy director, Aaron Elliott and finance assistant, Kim Wilson. His new additions included Bui, 100.5 Fresh Radio’s Pete Dalliday and cameraman David Koski.

“I couldn’t be more proud of the PTBOCanada brand and team celebrating our 11th anniversary,” said Evoy. “Neil (Morton) and his team did an amazing job to get things rolling and we are super excited to keep growing with Peterborough and open up our new studio and offices.”

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Local Engineering Firm Celebrates 15th Anniversary

From starting as a small business unit in Lakefield, Cambium Consulting & Engineering marked its 15th anniversary this past week.

Photo Courtesy of Cambium Consulting & Engineering.

The firm cannot have a formal celebration due to the shutdown, the staff reflect on past accomplishments and the changes over the years as part of their milestone.

Cambium was founded in 2006 with nine people offering environmental engineering services from an office in the Fleming Industrial Park.

Photo Courtesy of Cambium Consulting & Engineering.

They expanded in 2010, relocating to a larger office on Hunter Street in East City. Cambium added Geotechnical and Construction Quality Verification to its service suite from a second location on The Queensway in the same year. They have over 130 staff at offices located in Barrie, Oshawa, Kingston and Calgary.

“When we started Cambium 15 years ago, we had no idea that it would become what it is today. We aimed to craft a workplace we would enjoy and seek people that shared our beliefs to join us,” says John Desbiens, CEO and president. “As it turns out, we keep finding those people.”

Photo Courtesy of Cambium Consulting & Engineering.

In the past year, Cambium has been renovating a 25,000 square foot facility at 194 Sophia St. that will merge several Peterborough operations. The renovations and relocation are scheduled to be completed by June this year.

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Local Man Celebrates Family Reunion Anniversary After Early Separation

Local realtor and paralegal Colin Elsby went through most of his life without knowing his biological family but marked his two-year anniversary of reuniting with his sisters on Thursday.

During their first reunion, the siblings cooked and played board games as their first activities together at the Airbnb. Photo courtesy of Colin Elsby.

He found his sisters through social media three years ago citing his biological aunt as a mutual friend that made the connection. He only had first names and birthdates as his only clues of his sisters.

“I did some digging and everything popped up. My sisters found the same aunt (we had) on Facebook 10 years prior to me finding her,” said Elsby. “ We didn’t know each other aside from first names and birthdates. I honestly never thought I’d meet and find them.”

He first connected with them when he saw a friend request from his sister on Facebook.

The 24-year old met his sisters for the first time at an Airbnb in Leamington, Ont. — since one sister lives in Windsor and the other in Tilbury, Ont. — where the experience was so overwhelming that the actual meeting was the opposite according to Elsby.

“It was such a calming and natural connection,” he said. “There was a possibility that we may not have clicked but it was surprisingly natural and it wasn’t super eventful, to be honest.”

Fran Reaume (left), Jennifer Reaume (middle) and Colin Elsby (right) all share the same biological mother. Photo Courtesy of Colin Elsby.

The three often keep in contact with each other especially with the distance between their towns, the pandemic and busy lives. Both his sisters have children of their own and work in healthcare which occupies a lot of time says Elsby.

He was taken into the care of Children’s Aid Society (CAS) at five months old and officially adopted when he was three. He was born in Toronto, adopted in Cobourg and has been living in Peterborough for the past 15 years.

He is a realtor for EXIT Realty Liftlock Brokerage and a paralegal. Elsby is a board member for the Kawartha Haliburton Children’s Foundation for over two years.

He went to high school at Adam Scott Collegiate Vocational Institute before attending Fleming College to be a paralegal, graduating in 2019. He studied to be a real estate agent while getting his paralegal diploma. He currently is studying online at the University of London for his Bachelor of Law (LLB) to become a lawyer.

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Peterborough Airport Celebrating Its 50th Anniversary With Epic Air Show

Peterborough Airport is celebrating its 50th anniversary with an Air Show featuring the most exciting lineup of aerial demonstrations that Peterborough has seen in decades. The show takes place on Saturday, September 21th and Sunday, September 22th.

Headlining the show are the Canadian Forces Snowbirds aerial demonstration team and the SkyHawks Canadian Armed Forces parachute team. The Air Show will also feature aerial demonstrations by Rick Volker, Todd Farrell, MKT Aerobatics and the Great War Flying Museum. Static aircraft displays, local food vendors and activities for kids will round out the show.

“We are thrilled with the line-up of performances we have assembled to celebrate the Airport’s 50th anniversary,” says Airport General Manager Trent Gervais. “There really is something for everyone—from heart-stopping excitement to graceful manoeuvres and everything in between.”

A variety of ticket options are available. Adult tickets are $30, a family pass is $70 and a VIP Experience is $200, plus applicable taxes and fees. Ticket pricing is also available for children, youth/students, seniors and veterans.

For more info on the show and tickets, go here.

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Fleming College’s Official Song Remastered For 50th Anniversary

"Let the Deed Show", Fleming College’s official song that was commissioned for the College’s 25th anniversary, has been remastered and updated for Fleming’s 50th.
 
The song details the life of Sir Sandford Fleming, the College’s namesake, and his contributions to society. Written by local performer Danny Bronson, Bronson returned to the studio recently at Haggarty Studios in Peterborough with some of the finest studio musicians in Canada to record the new rendition of the song.

Danny Bronson (at left) in the studio recording

Bronson, who has breathed new life into the classic song, performs "Let the Deed Show" every year at all of Fleming College’s convocation ceremonies at its Frost and Sutherland campuses.

Bronson, along with students, alumni and employees, will be in attendance at the college’s Sutherland Campus 50th Anniversary celebration on September 22nd from 3 p.m. to 7 p.m.

Watch the awesome video below...

Written and performed by Danny Bronson Recorded at Haggerty Studios - Peterborough ON

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Fleming College Has Special Ceremony On 100th Aniversary Of Sir Sandford Fleming's Death

On the 100th anniversary of his death, Sir Sandford Fleming’s life and legacy were celebrated with a ceremony and the unveiling of a portrait of historic significance Wednesday (July 22nd) at the Sutherland Campus.

Fleming College President Dr. Tony Tilly gratefully accepted a portrait of Fleming, on long-term loan by the Royal Canadian Institute For the Advancement of Science (RCI)—the oldest scientific society in Canada and one that Fleming and a small group of civil engineers, architects and surveyors founded in 1849.

Fleming’s great-great-grandson, Jock Fleming, Councillor of the RCI, and Helle Tosine, President of the RCI, presented the portrait to Dr. Tilly.

The portrait was painted in the early 1890s by J.W.L. Forster, the leading Canadian portrait artist of the late 1800s and early 1900s.

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