The Opeongo Line

The Rockingham Six

Local historian Mark Woermke presents a fascinating look at 31 German-speaking families who emigrated to Renfrew County, Ontario between 1858 and 1900, looking closely at six particular families who settled near Rockingham and noting what happened to them after they arrived. 

Back in the Day IV - Beth & Johnny Hildebrandt

Martina Coulas talks with Beth and Johnny Hilderbrandt about how they first met, Beth's first trip to Barry's Bay by train, and Johnny's early life growing up here on a farm.  Forever young, the Hildebrandts offer up great stories about hog-wrassling in the old railway stockyard, sneaking into the Exchange Hotel underaged, and helping to save the old Barry's train station.

Back in the Day III - Julia Lorbetskie

The Opeongo Line presents Martina Coulas in conversation with two Lorbetskie women; first, Martina speaks with Julia Lorbetskie who was born nearly 101 years ago near Paugh Lake, four miles north of Barry's Bay. After she married, she moved into town where she and her husband Johnny raised six children, including their youngest daughter, Connie, who Martina speaks with and learns of her abiding joy in having the good fortune of growing up in Barry's Bay in the 1950s and 1960s. 

Back in the Day III: Connie Schwieg (nee Lorbetskie)

This second interview conducted by Martina Coulas deals with the local history of two Lorbetskie women. First, Martina spoke with Julia Lorbetskie, the nearly 101-year-old mother of her youngest daughter Connie, who in this second interview speaks about growing up in the village of Barry's Bay in the 1950s and 1960s

That Man From Rockingham II

Lesley Betts and Mark Woermke of The Opeongo Readers' Theatre present new documentary evidence that reveals in significant detail the early life of John Samuel James Watson, Rockingham's man of mystery. An inspirational leader and founder of one of the most productive and progressive villages in Renfrew County in the latter half of the 19th century, Watson was also a man with a shocking secret that he successfully managed to hide until now.

Back in the Day II - William J. Goulet

Back in the Day host Martina Coulas talks with William J. Goulet, a young man who arrived from Eganville in the early 1960s and established Barry's Bay's first funeral home. And when Bill wasn't getting ready for the next funeral, working in a hardware store, checking hydro meters, driving ambulance, or working for the school board, every Saturday night he was dancing up a storm down at the Lakeside Pavilion. 

Moonbeams & White Lightning

'The Local' host Sean Conway chats with Joshua Blank, author of "Stills in the Hills: Moonshine Memories from Around Canada's First Polish Kashub Community," an award-winning article about illegal moonshine made in the Wilno hills.

The Boogie Man

The Opeongo Readers' Theatre present The Boogie Man, or what happens one summer afternoon in 1897 when Biddy Culhane, a milk-maid from Maynooth meets Taig Harrington, a shepherd from Douglas in the OA & PS Train Station in Killaloe. Performed by Kristin Marchand, Lynn Stewart and Jeff Bowman.

That Man From Rockingham (Part One)

In the first of a two-part series about John S.J. Watson, the much-fabled founder of Rockingham, Lesley Betts and Mark Woermke of The Opeongo Readers' Theatre reveal new documentary evidence about Watson's exotic life prior to emigrating to Canada where he built one of the most progressive 19th century villages in all of Renfrew County.

Back in the Day I: Theresa Prince

During the Second World War, Theresa Prince was born near Barry's Bay on a small, hard-scrabble farm with no electricity, no indoor plumbing and no easy chance to live out her dreams.  Yet her story is more than just about her irrepressible courage in the face of seemingly insurmountable odds. It's really a story about the heart and soul of our local culture and heritage.