Wednesday 26 August 2015

Bungalow in London now available with inground pool

Laurentian Street located near schools, trails, YMCA and East Park golf / water park
Vacant for your quick possession; move in now!

By Mark Schadenberg
I just listed a terrific 3-bedroom bungalow in London – 33 Laurentian Street South.
The list of positive attributes is extensive.
The 32' x 16' inground pool includes a 2-year-old liner, and a pump / filter which is only 6 years old. The pool becomes the focal point of the family home's backyard, which also includes a 2-tier wood deck.

The yard itself backs on to Tweedsmuir School, which is conveniently the neighbourhood elementary school, but good news continues as St Bernadette separate school is just three blocks away too. Another school in the vicinity is London District Christian High School.
The amenities abound as the Kiwanis Park with its winding bike (jogging or hiking or rollerblading, etc) trails are just at the end of Laurentian.
For more family fun, East Park golf centre with go-karts, mini golf, bating cages, a golf driving range, and a wild waterpark is nearby, and so is the Bob Hayward YMCA.
It's not often that I discuss the neighbourhood before I delve into the home's features, but 33 Laurentian also offer quick connection to Highbury Avenue and thereby the 401.

LET'S GO INSIDE
Inside the house, is an eat-in kitchen with oak cabinets, and both a built-in oven and countertop stove. The dishwasher is about 7 years old. The kitchen and its dinette area are large enough for a table for 6 or more. There are garden doors to the 2-tier wood deck.
There is hardwood flooring to be found under the berber carpeting in the front living room and all 3 bedrooms. All windows above grade are newer vinyl-style windows. The front living room has an attractive bay window, which is just 2 years old.

All family homes require 2 bathrooms. This bungalow has a 4pc bathroom on main floor and a recently renovated 3pc bathroom off the lower recroom.
The recroom will be your family's gathering place for board games, television, boring card games, and children building forts out of cardboard. With its L-shaped design the lower level family room is 35 feet long and 12 feet wide – plus a 15' x 10' space for a computer desk or perhaps bubble hockey.
In an appraiser world, discussions surround effective age versus actual age. We have already pointed out many updates from the original home, plus improvements in the pool. This bungalow also includes a 1-year-old roof, furnace and central air are just 3 years old, the panel box is updated to breakers, and the water heater is also newer and owned
You will certainly want to see this brick bungalow soon !


Address: 33 Laurentian Street South, London (See Map)
Asking Price: $216,000
MLS: 76150 (More than 2 dozen photos posted)
Taxes: $2604.00 (2015)
For Viewings Call: Mark Schadenberg (519) 537-1553

This property is co-listed with Royal LePage Triland sales rep Melanie Pearce. If you're in London and want to see 33 Laurentian or do some house hunting in this price range, or any price range, call Melanie at (226) 268-9880
LINKS:


Mark Schadenberg, Sales Representative
Senior Real Estate Specialist (SRES designation)
Royal LePage Triland Realty
757 Dundas St, Woodstock


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Cross-country tour to feature 60 years of Canadian music

Budweiser Gardens in London hosts 'Oh Canada! What A Feeling!' performance on Nov. 1

Music ranges from a young Lightfoot to Neil Young; Rush to Anka, and Adams to Dion and Guess Who 

By Mark Schadenberg
Canadian popular music (in the rock n' roll era) has included a lot of electric guitars, but many other genres, including folk and various forms of acoustic sounds from country to Maritime. Popular music in Canada is difficult to define.
A production honouring modern Canadian music will arrive at the Budweiser Gardens on Sunday, Nov. 1 and is appropriately titled: Oh Canada! What A Feeling! (OCWAF)
The sounds of Gordon Lightfoot (pictured twice), Anne Murray, Loverboy, Rush, Joni Mitchell, Paul Anka, Bryan Adams, Celine Dion, kd Lang, Gino Vannelli, Neil Young and . . . The Guess Who are sewn together into a stage show featuring various singers and a large band.
Tickets begin at $51.50 and go on sale Aug. 29.

With such a varied soundtrack, it would not be easy to pare down a list of tunes to recreate, including building a montage of images and historical moments to act as a backdrop.
The Rockumentary is certainly inspired by the Juno Awards series of music compilations called Oh What A Feeling released during important anniversaries of the Juno Awards by CARAS (the Canadian Academy of Recording Arts & Sciences). A book by Martin Melhuish called: Oh What A Feeling: A Vital History of Canadian Music was also integral in the foundation of this musical staging.


Any fan of CANCON could scribble down a list of 50 songs quickly for such a show.
The OCWAF appearance in London is part of a tour of sorts as the production has been staged at the Princess of Wales Theatre in Toronto (which will host Phantom Of The Opera again, beginning Dec. 8), ending its run on Aug. 23.
From www.budweisergardens.com press release:
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. . . The show celebrates the rich, vibrant musical legacy of this country. Set against a stunning backdrop of historical and musical footage, a live band and a cast of fresh young talent will provide an unforgettable concert of songs . . .
Experience the unforgettable songs, remember the moments that are uniquely our country's and share in the pride and celebration of music as you time travel from the 50's, through the eclectic 70's and then onto the 80's and the halcyon days of rock n' roll when radio, video and the fans propelled our artists to the top of the charts! This show shine’s a spotlight on Canada's distinct musical voice.
A portion of ticket proceeds will go to MusiCounts and the Unison Benevolent Fund.
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Additional stops are planned for OCWAF for centres such as Kitchener's Centre In The Square (Tuesday, Oct 20), plus Oshawa, Ottawa, Montreal, Halifax, Saint John, Saskatoon, Edmonton, Calgary and Vancouver.
The Globe And Mail did a Q&A story with promoter Jeff Parry. I liked this question and answer the best of those posted online.
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Given that, does Oh Canada What a Feeling! feel different to you than the other tribute shows you’ve promoted?
You really don’t understand the breadth of Canadian music until you put a show like this together. With this show, you’re going to see two to two-and-a-half hours of the stuff that made Canada great, on the music map. My mandate is if, at the end of the show, people don’t get up and pound their chest like they did when Paul Henderson scored in ’72, then we haven’t done the job right.
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HABITAT FOR HUMANITY
Update
As I have submitted to this page previously, the famed Jeans N' Classics series appearances in London are fundraisers for Habitat For Humanity Heartland, which includes Woodstock. The next show is a tribute to The Beatles and the Abbey Road LP.
The Jeans N' Classics show is Sept 19 and seats start at $59. 
See: http://www.1047.ca/news/local-news/come-together-for-habitat-for-humanity-heartland/
This series is held at the London Convention Centre and will include a retrospective of the Woodstock, New York concert early in 2016.
In our Woodstock, Habitat For Humanity currently has two builds happening on Main Street.

LINKS:
www.ohcanadawaf.com
http://www.lfpress.com/2015/08/25/oh-canada-what-a-feeling-booked-for-londons-bud-gardens
www.budweisergardens.com
www.centreinthesquare.com
https://www.facebook.com/OCWAF
http://www.cbc.ca/news/arts/oh-canada-what-a-feeling-celebrates-homegrown-music-icons-1.3183281
http://globalnews.ca/video/2146560/oh-canada-what-a-feeling
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_866rg17cNM&feature=youtu.be



Mark Schadenberg, Sales Representative
Senior Real Estate Specialist (SRES designation)
Royal LePage Triland Realty Brokerage
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Tuesday 25 August 2015

Baseball hall of fame in St Marys is a must-see

Museum property includes 3 ball diamonds and memorabilia galore

By Mark Schadenberg
Another check off the old bucket list.
You would have thought a baseball fanatic such as myself living about 40 minutes away from St. Marys had been to the Canadian Baseball Hall Of Fame & Museum.
I've seen the baseball display at the Beachville District Museum several times and local sports memorabilia at the Woodstock museum, but I had never entered the doors of the Canadian baseball shrine is St Marys.

As manager of the Woodstock Navy Vets in Junior InterCounty baseball some 20+ years ago, I spent hundreds of hours at the Tip O'Neill Sportsfield in Southside Park.
When I was sports editor of the Woodstock Sentinel-Review, I was honoured to interview Oscar 'Lefty' Judd (pictured below) at his Ingersoll home. While there is an abundance of recollections in St. Marys, part of the collection is the southpaw's cleats.




As per too many landmarks, the signage to find the Canadian ball shrine is truly lacking, but with a check on Mapquest before our family departed, I knew where to find the hall of fame and its accompanying three ball diamonds even without sufficient directional arrows – simply meander down Church Street South.
Among the folks Nicole, Maeghan, Spencer and I chatted with there was a gentleman from Illinois who seemed to know the entire Chicago Cubs history and commented that he had seen Ferguson Jenkins pitch in person at Wrigley Field on numerous occasions. I could over-hear him talk to the two women employees about various collectibles which were for sale. The Cubs fan would purchase an autographed Fergie Jenkins baseball.
The museum is not large and I know that as I had seen many photos of it's exterior previously, but did not realize the second floor did not feature exhibit space as its truly storage and employee-only access.
The findings are predictable including a hallway that boasts plaques of all previous inductees. It's not easy to take a photo in a narrow walkway of the shiny commemorative plaques with a story or bio attached below.
The St. Marys location includes three 'field of dreams', which are utilized often, especially for youth baseball camps.


Inside, the hall of fame includes historic jerseys, recognition of the back-to-back World Series titles by the Blue Jays, a synopsis of the Montreal Expos (including a life-size cardboard Larry Walker), an overview of the dozens of Canadians who played in the All-American Girls' professional women's baseball league (1943-54) made famous by the movie A League Of Their Own, and tons of memorabilia in all forms – programs, ticket stubs, signed baseballs, newspaper clippings, posters, vintage equipment, copies of the World Series rings earned by the Blue Jays, a base from the last MLB game at Exhibition Stadium in Toronto, and a look back at Jackie Robinson breaking the colour barrier when he played AAA with the Montreal Royals before his promotion to the Brooklyn Dodgers in 1947.
The Canadian ball hall also displays lots of trophies, baseball cards, lineup cards, photos and renderings of stadiums from yester-year, bats and home plates, bobble-head dolls and a mini Expos' Youppi mascot, and a unique-looking contraption as an antique pitching machine.


In my mind, the artifacts I wanted to explore would be three-fold – Tip O'Neill of Woodstock, who was a baseball star in the 1880's, MLB pitcher Oscar 'Lefty' Judd of Ingersoll, and writings and the display pertaining to the first-ever recorded game in Beachville in 1838.
Judd was inducted in 1986 in just the third such ceremony and before the St. Marys museum existed. Judd's best year in MLB was 1942 when he went 11-6 with an ERA of 2.90 for the Boston Red Sox. With over 200 games played, Lefty had 99 starts and a career 3.90 ERA. I interviewed Oscar, likely in 1993. He died in 1995 at the age of 87. If I could remember exactly when I visited with Judd at his Canterbury Street home, I would go to the library microfilm and acquire a copy of the bio.



As an almost-lifetime resident of Woodstock, I have always had admiration for James Edward 'Tip' O'Neill and his astonishing 1883 season with a .435 batting average (225 hits in 124 games) and winning the triple crown with 14 homers and 123 RBIs. The asterisk of the 1883 campaign has always been that they counted walks as hits that season, so some annals have his average at .492. His St. Louis Brown won the 1886 World Series with O'Neill hitting a pair of homers in Game 2 and completing the series with the highest batting average at .400.
O'Neill died on New Year's Eve in 1915 at the age of 57.
O'Neill – The Woodstock Wonder – was among the inaugural inductees in 1983, and since 1984 the top Canadian in the majors each year has been recognized with the Tip O'Neill Award. Last year's winner was Justin Morneau, while other winners include Larry Walker (9 times), Joey Votto (4), Morneau (3), Jason Bay (3), Eric Gagne (2). Current Jays catcher Russell Martin earned the distinction in 2007 with the Dodgers.


If and when your family SUV ventures near St Marys, stop by the Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum. It's a national landmark with many treasures to observe and learn from.
Phone: (519) 284-1838

LINKS:
http://www.townofstmarys.com/discover/attractions/attractions.aspx?id=4326
Mark Schadenberg, Sales Representative
Senior Real Estate Specialist (SRES designation)
Royal LePage Triland Realty Brokerage
757 Dundas St, Woodstock
www.wesellwoodstock.com
(519) 537-1553, cell or text
Email: mschadenberg@rogers.com
Twitter: markroyallepage
Facebook: Mark Schadenberg, Royal LePage Triland

Discussion . . . Direction . . . Determination . . . Destination
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Sunday 23 August 2015

More portables added to French school in Woodstock

Successful programs at Ecole Ste. Marguerite Bourgeoys translates into more students
After relocating, new school opened its doors in 2011

By Mark Schadenberg
My children really love their school.
Or should that read: Mes enfants aiment vraiment leur école.
Maeghan is preparing to enter Grade 4, while Spencer will be in Grade 1 after the Labour Day long weekend. Their school – like all elementary learning institutions – provides a checklist of items required to start off the school year on the right foot (feet / pied). The list doesn't include new indoor shoes, but also does suggest paper, erasers, pencils, and pencils with erasers on the end. Any new shoes for indoors are a great idea, and so are safety scissors, but don't run with scissors.
Scissors are actually ciseaux.


My kids – as I'm sure you've determined already – go to an all-day all-French school and have become fully bilingual. Maeghan can read as proficiently in English as in French.
Ecole Sainte Marguerite Bourgeoys (ESMB) existed 35 years ago in Woodstock when I was in elementary school, but I attended the old St. Mary's grade school on Oxford Street, which also included ESMB on most of the second floor. That's before St. Mary's elementary evolved into St. Mary's secondary, which is now on Juliana Drive.
ESMB would later relocate to the former St Joseph's school building on Huron Street, but in 2011 shifted to its current location at the east end of Devonshire (700 rue Bristol is actual address) and is now a K-12 school all on under one roof, but the high school campus is known as Notre Dame. Of note, Notre Dame is for students in Grades 7 – 12.
I must correct myself here. ESMB is not under one roof as due to its successes in education the school has attracted an abundance of students to the point where its bursting at the seams with a large porta-pack (five classrooms) installed as we speak to go along with the five portables already on site. The arrival of the new unattached 'addition' also required that a large set of playground equipment had to be moved (see lower picture).


If you live in Woodstock or not, you may be surprised to learn that ESMB last year had five JK / SK classes and obviously half of them now move up to Grade 1. I haven't seen the roster of teachers, classroom assignments, or calculation of class sizes, or a breakdown of split classes, but Marguerite Bourgeoys continues to be successful, or possibly too successful in welcoming in new students from every corner of Oxford County.
Woodstock does have a separate board French Immersion school (Holy Family on Oxford Street), which is the same building I attended many decades ago (1971-80) in English-only and a public board French Immersion program at Roch Carrier (the former Hillcrest school).
I believe it's a great education to acquire knowledge in both official languages. I can see the obvious importance as my wife Nicole is fully bilingual.
It's a learning experience 'pour moi aussi' as my extent of French understanding was a thousand (plus) words, but not comprehension of sentences, tenses, gender and contexts. In other words, just because you know the words for colours, numbers, animals, body parts, and foods, doesn't mean you know the language.
I applaud Nicole Plante-Cooper (pictured) and her enthusiasm and team-leading skills. Who is she? Nicole Plante-Cooper (Email: plannico@cscprovidence.ca) is the long-time principal of ESMB. Her school is a dynamic force in academics of reading, writing, and arithmetic – and all in French.
ESMB is not a member of the Thames Valley public board or the London & District separate board. ESMB is under the 'parapluie' of the Providence board based in Windsor (www.cscprovidence.ca) with schools scattered in communities including London, Chatham, Owen Sound, Belle River, Tecumseh, Pain Court, and Sarnia.

The unique elements of the school include wide-varying extra-curricular opportunities such as baton lessons (majorettes), elementary wrestling team, dragonboat racing, improv acting, and a very successful hockey academy.
The school also has a pre-school, so your child could attend the Bristol 'structure de bâtiment' from a very early age until 17.
I should note that Google translate has been consulted in this writing, and I do admit to being not 100 percent sure on the correct usage of the word 'bâtiment'.

QUESTIONS
I'm not sure exactly how provincial and municipal funding works for the various school boards, and all the percentages, and proven population growth areas and declining neighbourhoods, but with 10 portable classrooms, will ESMB soon receive a permanent addition to the 4-year-old school?
With residential growth around the new hospital (Champlain and Frontenac neighbourhood, and Alberta and Southwood area) I would add Southside School (English-only school at Parkinson and Albert streets) to the list of learning institutions requiring permanent additions as they also have a porta-pack.
Woodstock has had several schools closed or re-purposed, including the ESMB on Huron Street which likely could have been kept open as perhaps a Kindergarten – Grade 3 school.
Among the Woodstock elementary schools to close in the past two decades include Princess, Victoria, Chapel, Broadway, Hillcrest (now Roch Carrier), St. Rita's, St. Joseph's, St. Mary's (Now Holy Family French immersion), and Tollgate (later French Immersion; now at Hillcrest as Roch Carrier).
At ESMB, the increase in student base translates into a smaller schoolyard, and likely less gymnasium and library time as more classes must share resources. The cost of leasing and maintaining portables could have been converted into architectural drawings for an addition.
Last year, my daughter was in a detached portable with no washroom, so she had to get a 'key' to enter school for such breaks. Not convenient.
Congratulations though to ESMB as the school does welcome non-French speaking students and possesses a terrific teaching plan to create bilingual Canadians.

LINKS:

Previous Woodstock Sentinel-Review stories:
2014
2012
2011
2009


Three options in Woodstock for your children 
to earn a bilingual education
Mark Schadenberg, Sales Representative
Senior Real Estate Specialist (SRES designation)
Royal LePage Triland Realty Brokerage
757 Dundas St, Woodstock



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Wednesday 19 August 2015

Brooke Henderson earns full-time admission to LPGA Tour

Smith Falls golfer was 3rd at Canadian Amateur at Craigowan last year
Victory in Portland last weekend vaults Henderson to No 17 in world rankings

By Mark Schadenberg
After not earning a LPGA playing card earlier this season due to her age (LPGA would not let her attend Q-School tourney), Brooke Henderson of Smith Falls has now been awarded full-time playing privileges after winning the Portland Classic this past Sunday by eight shots – on the world's top-tier for women professional golfers.
The amazing footnote in her resume is that Henderson is just 17 years old (Turns 18 on Sept. 10).


Besides receiving a cheque of $195,000 this past weekend, during the 2015 LPGA season, Henderson has tied for 5th at the U.S. Open to earn about $140,000, and has a bank roll equivalent to 14th on the LPGA money list with over $660,000 this season. Due to LPGA guidelines, that cash total will apparently be deemed unofficial earnings.
Her 8-stroke win was the largest on the LPGA since 2012.
Her 'official world ranking' has quickly leaped all the way up to 17th even though she only gained entry to the Portland tourney by competing in a Monday qualifier because of her previous LPGA status. Her world ranking is higher than Michelle Wie (20th), Morgan Pressel (23), Karrie Webb (22) and Paula Creamer (37).
Henderson is the first Canadian to win a regular LPGA event since Lorie Kane in 2001. There have been many top-level female golfers from Canada besides Kane, including Sandra Post, Jocelyne Bourassa (LPGA rookie of year in 1972), AJ Eathorne, Gail Graham, Marlene Stewart Streit, Lisa Walters, Dawn Coe-Jones, and current contender Alena Sharp (60th this year in the CME Globe point standings, and ranked 154th in world rankings).


There is a true significance in Henderson gaining her card this week as the next tour stop is the Canadian Open in Vancouver this week. Last year at this tourney, Henderson was both the top Canadian and top Amateur.
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Brooke Henderson's press release after receiving her LPGA credentials
“Since I was a little girl in Smiths Falls, Ontario, my dream has been to play on the LPGA Tour. I am so grateful for the opportunity to join the Tour as a member and play alongside so many of my role models. Realizing this dream here at the Canadian Pacific Women’s Open in my native Canada is even more amazing and I am so proud to be an ambassador for golf in this amazing country. I would like to thank Commissioner Mike Whan, the LPGA Tour staff, and all my sponsors, fans, friends and my amazing family for all the support I have received.”
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Without her Tour admittance granted by commissioner Michael Whan, the only way Henderson would be able to compete in the LPGA beyond this weekend is by attending every Monday qualifying event as she had utilized all available 'sponsor exemptions' she could use.
Henderson's meteor-like rise to the top is actually more like a four-year process as the highly touted amateur competed in the Canadian Open for the first time in 2012 as a 14-year-old.

BACK TO PORTLAND
At 17, she becomes just the third ever LPGA winner before the age of 18 – a short list which includes Lydia Ko, who won the Canadian Open at age 15.
Let's quickly look back to 2012 as Henderson earned both national and Ontario junior amateur titles.
Henderson in 2013 won the Canadian Amateur at just 15.
Last summer – in 2014 – the Canadian Amateur was at Craigowan just north of Woodstock, and Henderson was third behind fellow Canadian and winner Augusta James, and runner-up Su-Hyun Oh of Australia. She was second at the U.S Amateur.
At the 2014 U.S. Open, Henderson was tied for 10th and was the major's top amateur. She ended 2014 as the No. 1 ranked amateur in the world, and the first Canadian to ever accomplish that feat.
Team Canada would win silver at the world amateur championships in 2014 as Henderson was the medallist (winner) with a 19-under 269 to beat the previous best-ever score posted by Lydia Ko in 2012.


Keep her age in mind, as Henderson graduated high school and instead of honing her skills on the NCAA circuit as a student-athlete for a couple years, she turned professional. Playing in the minor leagues of pro golf at the beginning of this calendar year, Henderson won in January on the Suncoast Series.
OLYMPIC GAMES in 2016
Looking forward, all world ranked pro golfers – male and female – will be attempting to qualify for the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio, which will feature both individual and team standings.
Brooke Henderson has arrived, but if you follow golf you know she had really already arrived, but this past weekend with her inaugural LPGA trophy, it was a moment to remember with a celebration on the 18th green at the Columbia Edgewater Country Club in Portland, Oregon.

Twitter:
@BrookeH_Golf

LINKS:
http://www.woodstocksentinelreview.com/2014/07/25/augusta-james-won-the-canadian-amateur-championship-at-craigowan-golf-and-country-club-shooting-a-four-day--14




Mark Schadenberg, Sales Representative
Senior Real Estate Specialist (SRES designation)
Royal LePage Triland Realty
757 Dundas St, Woodstock
www.wesellwoodstock.com
(519) 537-1553, cell or text
Email: mschadenberg@rogers.com
Twitter: markroyallepage
Facebook: Mark Schadenberg, Royal LePage Triland

Discussion . . . Direction . . . Determination . . . Destination




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