By Karen Graham
Last week Cathy Bond cut her last ties with Millbrook, selling the home where she and husband Bev lived and during the last few years, operated their business- the Millbrook Times. It was an event of relief tinged with regret, as they loved this adopted community which they had made their business to know very well.
With decades of newspaper experience with national papers in the Toronto area, the couple purchased the local paper from the McCoys in 1999. Their strategy was to slow down a bit by running a community newspaper, where they could remain active and engage with their new community. They operated it for thirteen years, and during that time they became local insiders, despite their relatively recent arrival here. It was a business they both loved, and it was only health challenges that forced them to part with it in December 2012.
A few months later, they relocated to Glencoe, a small community south of London, Ontario, where they could benefit from the support of family from both sides of their partnership.
It has been a challenging transition, going from a town where everybody knows your name to a new one where you are anonymous. To become familiar with their new town and make a contribution, Cathy began to volunteer at Quest Centre, which is a community resource centre providing employment, career planning and counselling, internet access, access to education and training information and information and referrals to government and community resources.
The relocation has been more problematic for Bev, who last year had to move into a residence with care due to deteriorating health. Cathy finds the separation difficult, but ultimately necessary. She has now taken on a part-time retail job on the weekend to expand her involvement in the community. While she loved the newspaper business, she has no intentions of joining a similar operation in Glencoe or beyond. For Cathy, this is a time to relax and enjoy life and family in her new home, which she well deserves.
