Horseshoe Valley Kaleidoscope
—by Valerie Thornton
In November 2004 we moved up to Horseshoe Valley in Oro-Medonte. Wow, that 20 years has flown by; I suddenly realized that this is the longest time I have ever lived in one home. Coming to Oro-Medonte was rather similar to where I lived and grew up in England; both were away from the big cities and their outskirts.
Here, I am halfway between Orillia and Barrie, and there I was similarly between two towns, Rayleigh and Wickford. We didn’t have the abundance of forests that we have here, but we were surrounded by farmland; no lakes but the tidal River Crouch which meandered through the countryside. When I see our local community halls, they remind me of the one that served my community of Rawreth, which was across from my school, which had only three classrooms for children from five to eleven. I love driving around OM and passing the numerous small churches with their generally well kept graveyards and small old buildings that were previously local schools.
The big difference was the public transit we had; regular buses and train stations with easy access to London so as a child I never had to rely on parents driving me anywhere.
But Canada is so large; as our young niece and nephew told us (when they visited this summer), our “it’s just down the road” is different to their “just down the road”. Quayle’s Brewery on 12th Line (which we had said was “just up the road”) was a popular spot for them, great with small children lots of space to run around and an interesting supply of different beers. Just one of the many new businesses that have arrived since we came in 2004, great to see.
When we moved here, we came upon a delightful quarterly publication called “The Valley Voice” sent out by the Horseshoe Property Owners Association which we had promptly joined. It was only generally around 12 pages but full of useful information about our new community. A great communication tool that kept everyone up to date with what was going on.
I have to go through my old copies, which I kept. Still learning about my community and love some of the early history such as the very informative publication “The Story of Oro” (Editor Joanna McEwen) 1987. Interesting was the picture of the History Committee in 1972 ( 6 women and three men) and 1987 (5 women and 4 men). Just love all the old photos in this book including a 1967 barn raising with so many men involved. There is another book on Oro-Medonte which I must get from the Township Office. The two neighbouring townships of Oro and Medonte were merged in 1994, only just thirty years ago.
On Wednesday September 11 the LON Ladies golf group held its annual Charity Golf event at Horseshoe Resort on the Valley Course. This year the ladies were supporting The Sharing Place Food Centre in Orillia, which is dedicated to helping Orillia area residents living with food insecurity. The Sharing Place provides a diverse set of programs that strives to create a healthy community through access to nutritious food.
It was a very successful and fun day with golf, a delicious meal in the tent and once again Carey Moran, the morning co-host at 106 Pure Country was the M.C. There was also an online auction and a silent auction during the day/evening. Again, not only a lot of fun but an amazing success. As I write the final amount raised has not been tallied up.
The whole team working on this, under the leadership of Madam Fiona Barrie and the Fundraising Committee including Kim Sanderson, Marnie Redmond, Bev Jackson, Shelley Scapillato, Joanne Bovair, Susan Rose and Jan Howe, did an amazing job. Once again, the Backporch Boys were involved and did their own fundraising on the course. I will do an update in my next column. I know that a lot of work goes into this important event and want to make sure that everyone involved gets a thank you.
Prior to this, to support the LON fundraising Barb Shopland and Lisa Banks had their second annual end of summer concert in their garden with lots of music and food, and a big surprise to everyone: their wedding. A total surprise, after 30 wonderful years together. Congratulations to this vibrant couple and what an enchanting way to do it. Together, everyone helped raise over $10,000 for the Sharing Place. That is just amazing.
There are now two Community Safety Zones in Ward 1, where the fines for speeding will be increased. Line 6 in Sugarbush from HVR to Diamond Valley Road, and Line 4 from HVR to Alpine Way. There have been comments that unless there are speed cameras to catch the speeders this wouldn’t necessarily work. I believe the police have been asked to ‘patrol’ the area more often. It is very important that people slow down.
Both Memorial Park on Line 4 and Sweetwater Park on Line 6 held movie nights for families in August. Such a wonderful idea, and very successful. Friends of Sugarbush also organized a Fun with our Firefighters day on August 14 and the second annual Fall Fest with a children’s bike parade on September 21.
The Horseshoe Highlands Golf Zone and Driving Range at 85 Highland Drive is starting an indoor golf season in October. They are considering leagues (seniors, ladies, men) if enough people are interested. Simulator Golf offers over 100 courses, 1 to 6 players per machine. They are open all year and cater to parties. Call Rick Sinottee at 705-345-5360 or check on the Horseshoe Highlands Golf Zone site.
The Terry Fox Run was again held in Sugarbush on September 15. This has been happening for 24 years now and they have raised a lot of money over all those years. What an amazing young guy Terry was; a role model for us all.
We have been having great weather as we enter into one of my favourite seasons, fall. Our local golf courses continue to be active and Horseshoe Resort has also been busy with many events including the Bike Fest weekend (September 13-15) with the AC/DC Tribute Band providing the music; fun for all ages. It is heartening to see the Valley 18-hole course come back again.
Good news. The Nurse Practitioner-led Clinic on Line 4 near the fire station has added another nurse practitioner to the roster. The clinic’s goal is to assign 800 patients to the new nurse practitioner over the next year. To be considered, local residents can register with Health Care Connect to get on a centralized wait list.
Not so good news. I heard that the Oro-Medonte landfill will probably close by 2027 and that exporting garbage is the only option.
The May Court Club of Barrie’s Annual Homes for the Holiday Tour (four homes professionally decorated for the Christmas season) and the Makers Market and Tea Room at The Heights Ski and Country Club on Horseshoe Valley Road is on Sunday, November 10 (one day only) from 10 am to 4 pm. All funds raised support charitable needs in our community.
The Annual Thanksgiving Images Studio Tour is from October 11 to 14 from 10 am to 5 pm. One of the finest and longest running studio tours in Ontario, featuring 30 artists. A bonus is driving through our wonderful countryside with the leaves changing. Enjoy the beauty!
I would love to hear from you if you need more information, are starting up a new group, etc. Get in touch at vmt4141@gmail.com.
“Even if I don’t finish, we need others to continue. It’s got to keep going without me.” —Terry Fox