Peterborough Blogs
The Rotary Clubs of Peterborough and Peterborough Kawartha are pleased to announce the lineup for this weekend’s 17th Annual Fireworks Event, which will be held on Saturday, May 18th at Del Crary Park.
5:00 pm – 6:00 pm Peterborough LIVE*
5:00 pm – 9:00 pm
Countdown at approximately 9:40 pm (Dusk)
Note: *The rain date is Sunday, May 19th.
Watch: TSN's Cabbie On The StudioPTBO Podcast In Peterborough
/For the first time ever, TSN’s Cabbie came to Peterborough—and that included a stop at the StudioPTBO headquarters to tape a show with hosts Cody May and Neil Morton.
Cody May & Neil Morton interviewing Cabbie on StudioPTBO show Saturday, February 23rd
On the podcast, Cabbie talks about interviewing NBA/NHL players, pop culture, social media, positivity, networking, kindness and more! Watch it below…
Cuz Otters Love Snow Days Too
/Kids, otters love Snow Days too!
Indeed, one of our fave videos so far of Winter 2018/19 in Peterborough has to go to these playful otters at the Riverview Park and Zoo doing their version of snow angels and frolicking in the Canadian winter during a Snow Day.
Chillin’ on a Snow Day
Zookeeper Jenna caught the great footage on Tuesday (February 12th) and the zoo posted it to their Facebook page where it is getting thousands of views…
We shared it on our Instagram page as well, where it’s blowing up…
695 Likes, 30 Comments - @ptbo_canada on Instagram: "Otter angel: Zookeeper Jenna @riverviewparkandzoo captured this great footage of otters enjoying..."
And Twitter as well, were the RT action is happening…
15 Fun Facts About The History Of Quaker Oats Plant In Peterborough
/The Quaker plant on the shores of the Otonabee River doesn’t just smell great with its wonderful aromas that emanate throughout East City and the downtown on many days depending on the wind’s direction. It also has a storied history, having been first established on the shores of the Otonabee in 1902 (it was rebuilt after the devastating fire of 1916).
The plant is an institution in Peterborough, a vital employer and part of the fabric of the community, standing tall next to the Hunter Street Bridge. We teamed up with the plant’s parent PepsiCo Foods Canada, the plant’s local resident historian Henry Clarke and Trent Valley Archives to compile the below fun facts and photos/postcards…
1. The day the plant opened for business to begin hiring back in 1900, there were lineups at the door of the hiring office and a huge shortage of sales clerks in the downtown stores—they had flocked to Quaker for the better wages.
2. The plant had a huge steam whistle that for years called everyone to work at 8 a.m., for lunch at 12 noon, back to work at 1 p.m., and then signal the end of the work day at 5 p.m. It also was used to signal the start and end of the two minutes of silence on Remembrance day.
3. Yummy aromas: The smell of warm oatmeal is always in the air and is often supplemented by maple brown when the plant is making maple squares, and strawberries when making one kind of chewy bar.
4. The occasional burnt smell will alert employees—and the rest of us who smell it—that something hasn’t gone quite right.
5. It takes an area of about 100 square miles to grow the oats to run the plant for a year.
6. It would take a hopper car train 11 miles long to bring the oats to the plant.
7. When it was still a flour mill (until the 1960s), flour for Africa was packed in a special flour sack of a particular shade of blue and was the right width and length to be cut into a pair of men’s pants. The blue was a favourite of the area where the flour was sold.
8. Muffet shredded wheat has been a favourite for a hundred years. The box board dividers that separated the layers of muffets in each box was a staple in most houses for recipes, grocery lists and notes.
9. Quaker at one time sponsored Sergeant Preston of the Yukon, a radio and early TV program about a Mountie in the Yukon. A premium was given away that provided one square inch of land in the Yukon to the redeemer. Some folks assembled thousands of coupons to actually claim the land but were refused when they could not prove title to adjoining squares.
10. Quaker packed rolled oats in calico bags up until the 1980s to be sold at Hudson Bay trading posts in the far north. The labels could be removed and the cloth used for curtains and other purposes.
11. During the Second World War, when so many were away with the armed forces, the city jail just up the hill from the plant would become a source of labour, with prisoners being sent to work each day and returned to the cells each night.
12. At one time, the great grandson of the founder of Quaker worked at the plant. He had the first $.25 shinplaster that the company had ever earned.
13. The father, uncle and sister of the hockey legend Bob Gainey all worked at the Peterborough Plant.
14. Bill Plager of NHL fame worked at the plant.
15. At one time it was possible to collect sets of china for home use, the china having been packed in boxes of rolled oats.
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Great Stocking Stuffer Idea: 2019 Peterborough Musicfest Diner's Cards Are Available Now
/Peterborough Musicfest has announced the return of the very popular Musicfest Diner’s Cards.
This year, with 47 delicious restaurants (see poster below for participants) to enjoy for only $25, the 2019 Diner’s Cards allow the user to “buy one entrée, get the second half price.”
Back by popular demand just in time for Christmas—a great stocking stuffer idea that gives back free music to the community—you can buy three Diner’s Card booklets and get the 4th absolutely free.
Diner’s Cards can be purchased for $25 each at the customer service desk at Lansdowne Place; at City Hall in Peterborough; at the Kawarthas Tourism office on George Street; or online here.
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The Most Adorable Peterborough Video Of 2018 Might Be These Meerkats With A Halloween Pumpkin At Peterborough Zoo
/A cute video the Riverview Park & Zoo recent posted to their Facebook page is getting thousands of views across various social media platforms.
The zoo thanked all the people that dropped off pumpkins there after Halloween, as the pumpkins are great enrichment for many of their animals. The pumpkins were definitely a smashing success for the Meerkats.
The post has become of our most retweeted of 2018…
Watch the Riverview Park & Zoo’s original video that has amassed nearly 12,000 views so far on their Facebook page…
Publican House Brewery Launches Limited Release 10th Anniversary Maibock In Celebration Of 10th Anniversary This Month
/Publican House Brewery has reached a great milestone this October, celebrating 10 years in business in Peterborough.
The idea for Publican House sprung in 2004 when co-founder Marty Laskaris saw an opportunity in the craft beer industry and over some beers and help from the former head brewer at Kawartha Lakes Brewing Company, hatched a plan.
After several years of renovations, the first beer was poured and growlers were available for sale in October 2008. Initially, beer was available for sale only at its on-site store.
Nowadays, most Publican House brands are available for sale in cans, growlers, bottles and kegs at the Brewery store, select LCBO’s, Beer Stores and grocery stores. Expansion of the brands continues in other areas and regions as well.
To celebrate the 10th Anniversary, Publican House has crafted a limited release beer, the 10th Anniversary Maibock (pictured below), with only 1,000 bottles available. This beer can be purchased in 750ml bottles in the Publican House Retail Store and on tap in the Brew Pub, while supplies last.
The 10th Anniversary Maibock, at 6% ABV, is golden amber in colour with rich aroma notes of butterscotch, dried apricot, sweetened bread and candied sugar. This uniquely crafted ale is sensibly hopped and malt forward in character, and is slightly sweet with hints of toffee, honey, bread and nut. It is unfiltered, and medium in body with an enjoyable mild finish.
Tenth anniversary celebrations this month culminate with a Pig Roast on Saturday, October 20th from 4 p.m. to 11 p.m. on the Publican House patio.
This event will feature live music, beer specials, free brewery tours and more. The cost is $10 per person and includes a roasted pork sandwich. Tickets are available at the door.
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Peterborough Petes Wearing Specialty Jerseys As Part Of Alumni Homecoming
/More than 65 alumni are returning to Peterborough October 12th to 14th to commemorate their time with the Petes.
As part of this special Alumni Homecoming weekend, the Petes will wear specialty jerseys designed by PTBO Northern Originals against the Windsor Spitfires on October 13th.
These are the jerseys the Petes will be sportin’…
Almost the entire 1978-79 Petes team—the only Memorial Cup winning Petes team in franchise history—will be on hand for the special pre-game ceremony on Saturday, October 13 at 7:05 p.m.
The alumni will take part in exclusive events including a mixer, golf and meals. Fans will have the chance to interact with alumni at an all-you-can-eat Petesa Party. (“Petesa” party, clever!)
The Petes specialty theme jerseys pay tribute to the history of the club, and will be auctioned off online in support of Parent Project Muscular Dystrophy and Muscular Dystrophy Canada.
“We wanted to include as many eras of Petes history in the design as we could, with the focus being on the 1979 Memorial Cup team but also commemorating all of the team’s alumni,” says Mike Watt, owner of Providence and co-designer of the commemorative jerseys the Petes will wear.
For more info on the special weekend, go here.
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50 Years Ago This Month The Old Mustang Drive-In Opened, This Is A Woman's Story Of Her Father Managing It
/Amanda Ford reached out to us, saying she was inspired to write an article long in the making about the Mustang Drive-In after seeing a series of photos taken by Jay Callaghan published here on PTBOCanada in May 2014.
“The erie pictures of the now abandoned drive-in made my heart sink,” Ford says. “When my parents moved out of the drive-in and I moved out of town in 1982, I never did go back. I was happy to know that someone took it over and it was still running but I didn’t realize that in September 2012, the Mustang Drive-In closed its doors, never to open them again.”
Photo by Jay Callaghan of old projector room at Mustang Drive-In
“I promised myself that I would showcase the Mustang Drive-In Peterborough as it was when it first opened,” Ford adds. “I dug through the family archives to find pictures and articles about the Mustang Drive-In Peterborough when it was brand new and viewed as the shining star of entertainment that it was back in 1968.”
Read her memories of its opening below…
——————-
MY MUSTANG DRIVE-IN MEMORIES
Fifty years ago this month in September 1968, the Mustang Drive-In Peterborough opened as one of the biggest drive-ins in Canada.
I was eight years old and my dad, Alan D. Ford, was given the honour of being Manager of the Mustang Drive-In Peterborough. Born in 1920, he began his theatre career back in the 1940s after serving as a Flight Instructor with the RCAF during WWII. He worked in many types of theatres across Ontario and at other indoor movie theatres in Ontario. His dedication and experience earned him the position of Manager, Mustang Drive-In Peterborough. My dad was was the manager there from 1968 until his retirement from the theatre business in 1986.
Amanda’s father Alan Ford
The Mustang Drive-In was to be the flagship Drive-In for GTI Drive-In Services Limited. It boasted a 775 car capacity and was one of the largest screens in Canada.
The Peterborough Examiner wrote about the venture in a 1968 article..
Peterborough Examiner article from September 18th, 1968
Teaser ads began appearing in the Peterborough Examiner starting in August and September 1968 about the opening…
All dressed up for the Grand Opening: The snack bar (pictured below) was originally set up with two sides serving the same item, with a cashier for both lines. This would help move the line along during the busy peak times.
Unknown photographer: From Ford’s Personal Collection
Standard uniform for the girls working in the snack bar: Don’t forget your cowboy hats ladies! Manager Al Ford (aka my dad) only had one rule: Always change into your street clothes when your shift was over. “I don’t want to see girls in uniform climbing in the back of cars with boys!” he would say.
Unknown photographer: From Ford’s personal family collection
Fast Forward to August 1977. Smokey and The Bandit, starring Burt Reynolds and Sally Field, played for an amazing eight weeks that summer at the Drive-In! It was the longest playing movie in the history of the Mustang Drive-In Peterborough. (Note: Mustang Drive-In by now is owned and operated by Premier Operating Company)
By this time, I was 17 and working in the kitchen. “Queen of the Fryer” was my unofficial title. It was definitely a family affair. My dad was Manager, my mom (Donna) was the cashier and in charge of the snack bar staff, my sister (Debbie) worked out front serving popcorn and drinks, while my brother (Bob)—the self-appointed “social director”—was busy turning his ushering duties into a game of, “Let’s see how many of my friends I can let in before my Dad finds out!”
When we weren’t busy with work duties, my brother and I would sit upstairs in our family apartment above the snack bar, and watch Smokey and The Bandit without the internal speaker on. (My family lived onsite above the snack bar and beside the projection room, and dad had them wire a speaker that sat behind his chair in our living room so whenever we wanted to watch the movie we could just turn the speaker on to hear the movie.) After eight weeks, we had the dialogue to Smokey down pretty good and would act out the scenes ourselves!
Peterborough Examiner article from August 20th, 1977
