Category Archives: West Galt

Southwood Secondary teacher featured in Neighbours of West Galt magazine October 2025

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Neighbours of West Galt Magazine October 2025 cover.

Neighbours of West Galt magazine is on the way for October!

I’m hearing that people are receiving the October edition in their mailboxes today, after disruptions in Canada Post delivery earlier this fall.

If you want to see the magazine before it lands in your mailbox, it’s available to view here: https://www.bestversionmedia.com/on/neighboursofwestgalt/

The feature story is about long-time West Galt teacher Graham Ponting and his partner Ellen Nelson.  I enjoyed interviewing them and learning how many West Galters remember attending his English classes at Southwood Secondary School, where he worked for 13 years before taking on the Vice Principal role at Preston High School.

Stan Switalski created the photographs for the feature story.

Also featured in the October Edition:

  • The history of the Jenny Wren statue at Queen’s Square, erected to remember the thousands of Women’s Royal Canadian Navy service members trained in Galt in the Second World War.
  • Glendon Gymnastics is profiled in a business feature.
  • A preview story for Ghost the Musical at the Cambridge Arts Theatre October 17-25, 2025
  • Four local dogs are featured on the pets of the Month page
  • A community calendar lists local events in and around West Galt

I’m the content coordinator for Neighbours of West Galt magazine and used to work at the former Cambridge Reporter newspaper. 

Please share your West Galt story ideas and pet photos with me at kswayze@bestversionmedia.com

Feature Family, Community Cafe, and Turtle Saving Tips in West Galt magazine June 2025 edition

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The Snowdons first met at the Cambridge Fall Fair in 2018 – and moved into a home with newborn Ellis in January in 2025, not far away from the fairgrounds.

They’re the featured family in the June 2025 edition of Neighbours of West Galt, published by Best Verson Media. I had a wonderful time interviewing them and Stan Switalski created the cover photo and images for the feature story.

I’m the content coordinator for the monthly magazine and collect information to share in the publication. The full-colour magazine is distributed by Canada Post to homes in selected areas Cambridge, Ontario, west of the Grand River.

There’s no direct mail subscription service offered, so I encourage you to share your copy with your neighbours who don’t receive one in their mailbox.

Share your news and photos!

Please share your West Galt news, photos or events using this submission form.

Other stories in the June 2025 edition include:

An update on a community cafe opening for the summer in the Kent Street area, by Zenen Treadwell. Learn more about the laid-back drop-in conversation spot at credenzo.cafe

A business feature about ONE Movement Dance Centre, which builds community through dance.

The Cambridge Sculpture Garden‘s 25th anniversary party on June 7, 2025, includes unveiling of a new sculture at the Grand Avenue South location.

Heritage Meadows Gracious Retirement Living shared information about the importance of social connections, as important parts of health.

Winners of 7th Annual Spirit Awards presented by the United Way Waterloo Region Communities. More than 350 people gathered for the event in Tapestry Hall.

The Pets of the Month section features submitted photos photos of Ivy, a leopard gecko; and dogs Louis, Charlie, Chloe and Boston.

Main Street in Galt features Pride Week Events June 1-14, 2025, as the area is closed to traffic for expanded restaurant patios and events, hosted by the Downtown Cambridge Business Improvement Association.

rare Charitable Research Reserve in Blair reminds everyone to watch out for baby turtles as breeding season arrives in June.

A 1985 photo from the City of Cambridge Archives collection shows Grand Avenue at St. Andrew’s Street, almost three decades before the Hamilton Family Theatre was constructed there.

Families, history and wedding week tips part of March 2025 Neighbours of West Galt

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Rob and Sue Fox are on the cover of March 2025 edition Neighbours of West Galt, in a photo by Stan Switalski.

I enjoyed interviewing my long-time friends Rob and Sue Fox as the featured family in the March 2025 edition of Neighbours of West Galt, published by Best Verson Media. Stan Switalski created the cover photo and images for the feature story.

I’m the content coordinator for the magazine and collect information to share in the monthly publication, which is distributed to selected areas west of the Grand River in Cambridge, Ontario. There’s no subscription offered, so I encourage you to share your copy with your neighbours.

Please share your West Galt news tips, photos or events using this submission form.

Other stories in the March 2025 edition include:

A history story I wrote about F. J. Brown & Son Jewellery Store, which has been a fixture on Main Street since 1890.

Advice about how much to expect new windows and doors to cost, in story by Linton Window and Door.

The House Doctor offers tips about protecting your house from Radon Gas seeping into your basement.

The Pets of the Month section features Callie, a Mini Australian Shepherd dog, and cats Scout and Bravehart.

A rundown of what’s happening in Cambridge Wedding Week, March 3-9, 2025, hosted by the Downtown Cambridge Business Improvement Association.

A 1965 aerial photo of a new subdivision under construction along Blair Road, from the Cambridge Reporter Collection at the City of Cambridge Archives.

Books by Irish Authors to help you get into the St. Patrick’s Day mood, offered by YourBookishLife.com

Rob and Sue Fox are on the cover of March 2025 edition Neighbours of West Galt, in a photo by Stan Switalski.

Remembering Hurricane Hazel flooding in 1954 in what’s now Cambridge, Ontario

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cars drive through flood water over rural road in 1954 near what's now Cambridge Ontario Canada
This photo from October 15, 1954 shows cars driving along Blair Road through Grand River flood waters, caused by Hurricane Hazel. The photo was taken by Harold Kingle, and is now part of the Cambridge Archives Collection.

This year, Cambridge, Ontario, residents remembered the last big Grand River flood on May 17, 1974, with a 50th anniversary event at Cambridge Firehall Museum and Education Centre.

It caused millions of dollars of damage in downtown Galt 50 years ago, but it isn’t the only flood anniversary this year.

October 15 and 16, 2024, marks the 70th anniversary of Hurricane Hazel in 1954, which drenched southern Ontario when it took an unexpected northern turn from the southern United States.

The storm killed 81 people in Toronto. Damage there was estimated at between $25 million and $100 million, or more than $1 billion, says the Canadian Encyclopedia.

Galt downtown flooded

In Galt, now called Downtown Cambridge, there were dozens of people rescued from homes along the Grand River by firefighters using boats.

No injuries were noted after the rainstorm storm flooded downtown Galt and washed-out sections of roads between Blair and Galt and Blair and Preston. The storm also destroyed the tent city at the International Plowing Match at Breslau.

The river rose four metres above normal and covered Water Street and Grand Avenue.  

The Galt Evening Reporter on Monday, October 18, 1954, covered the flooding in detail, including eyewitness accounts of bystanders rescuing a Waterloo man from a submerged car on flooded Highway 97 east, and men on horseback saving a herd of cattle trapped by rising waters at the Cruickston Park Farm in Estate in Blair.

Missing no more! The plaque is back in Victoria Park in Cambridge

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After going missing in early June, 2024, the historic plaque in Victoria Park in Cambridge is back where it should be.

Cambridge Today reports that the historic bronze plaque was found nearby, and reinstalled by city crews this week. It’s located along Blenheim Road, opposite Mount View Cemetery.

Other plaques that went missing simultaneously still haven’t been found.