A Year In Review By David Tuan Bui
/I started in the new era of PTBOCanada on Mar. 1 when owner Kirtus Evoy purchased it from Neil Morton. Since joining the team, I have got to experience what Peterborough has to offer. The stories, the community and the surprises that can come from a small town are things I will never forget for the rest of my life.
Bui (pictured) previously worked as a freelance sports journalist for Indigenous newspaper The Eastern Door prior to joining the PTBOCanada team. Photo by Angela O’Grady.
These are my top five stories — in chronological order — that I truly enjoyed being a part of in 2021.
Jorge Arroyo has expressed some interest in streaming video games like Fortnite or Spanish lessons on Youtube in the near future. Photo courtesy of Sarai Arroyo.
Yes, Jorge Arroyo cracked my list just as he made my colleague Angela O’Grady’s. If you ever talked to this young man — as I got to in June —, you will understand what an inspiring soul he is with a great attitude.
Arroyo was only six years old before immigrating to Canada from Mexico. He recorded a 12-minute podcast with The New Canadians Centre with his story of coming to this country. After hearing the podcast, I was moved and had to feature him.
He encourages others to open up their struggles rather than bottling them up to help overcome them. After adjusting to Canadian life for over five years of living here, Arroyo reminded me that no one is alone with their problems and creating awareness is one step towards solving them.
David Tuan Bui with Wadsworth Kulatungam in photos separated by 13 years (2008 and 2021). Bui first met Kulatungam as a Grade 6 student at Immaculate Conception School while the latter was a substitute teacher. Photos by David Tuan Bui.
I was invested deeply in this story emotionally. If you were in the Peterborough Catholic school system for the past 25 years, chances are that you know renowned substitute teacher Wadsworth Kulatungam, better known as Mr. Wadsworth.
Kulatungam retired in December last year rather quietly but I had a different agenda. When I heard that St. Peter’s Secondary School teacher Colleen Crawley was gathering testimonials for Kulatungam’s retirement, I immediately jumped at the chance and wanted to turn it into a story.
From my personal experience, no one ever had a negative thing to say about him and I believed was the consummate professional. I am honoured to have had him as my supply teacher on multiple occasions through the years.
Talking to Kulatungam 13 years later in July since I last saw him gave me a flashback of wonderful memories and seeing the community collaborate on highlighting his teaching impact was a heart-touching moment. Congratulations again Wadsworth on your retirement!
“Everyone has capabilities and goodness in them. That was my philosophy. Criticism doesn’t carry you anywhere.”
Jenn (left) and Braden Glasbergen (right) have had four different elaborate front-yard decorative displays such as Easter, dinosaurs, a ghost pirate ship and a gingerbread house. Photo by David Tuan Bui.
It is hard to miss the setups Jenn and Braden Glasbergen of Ravenwood Drive in Peterborough have on their front lawn.
During the fall season, the couple has this awesome pirate ship on their front lawn open to the public to watch, explore and take pictures.
They have had other setups that they change quarterly such as an Easter setup, dinosaurs and a Christmas one to fit all four seasons.
If doing this was not enough to give back to the community, the Glasbergens collected non-perishable goods for St. Vincent de Paul for every display they put up.
The Stanley Cup had never gone down the Lift Lock prior to Mitchell Stephens’s boat parade. Photo by Pete Dalliday.
Yes, this story made both my list and PTBOCanada’s top 10 list but we are talking about the Stanley Cup being in Peterborough.
As a sports fan, I am excited to hear when a hometown person wins a major sports championship so I can only imagine what two-time Stanley Cup champion Mitchell Stephens felt when he brought it back to Peterborough on Aug. 25.
PTBOCanada was able to get a water parade arranged for Stephens as he took the Stanley Cup down the Lift Lock with friends in family. I was privileged to be on the same boat as him recording the parade and editing the video the same night.
This will be one of the most opportunistic experiences that I have ever had and am fortunate to be a part of it.
Callan Perks signed a one-day contract as the Peterborough Petes Next Gen head coach on Nov 28. Photo by Jenish Odigski.
There was no way Coach Cal was put off this list.
Callum Perks became an overnight sensation with a pre-game locker room speech for the Peterborough Petes for their Next Gen game on Nov. 28. The game allowed kids to play in executive roles for the hockey club for the day and Perks took absolute advantage of it.
When you talked to the young man, I was astonished by how developed his speaking and linguistic skills were for the seven-year-old. I have interviewed numerous amounts of children but none with better diction than Perks. I normally get one or two-word answers from kids but it was not the case with Coach Cal.
To see how well-developed since speaking with him now, I can only imagine what kind of potential he has when he grows up. The future for Coach Cal looks bright.
The Petes beat the Ottawa 67’s 3-2 if you are wondering how that game went before that speech. I would say the pre-game motivation worked.
