WEBBER RELEASES “THE CAUSE” PAGE
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PAGE SMGCC CLUB CHAMPIONSHIP Thursday, August 21, 2025
St. Marys Independent
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St. Marys Independent 36 Water St. S., St. Marys ON | 519.284.0041 | info@stmarysindependent.com | www.stmarysindy.com
Issue #1276
Thursday, August 21, 2025
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St. Marys outreach worker calls for more compassion amid housing, mental health struggles
FRIDAY 9 & DINE 9 holes, cart & dinner $46 (Burger Bar) Live music with Jamie Shrier
THURSDAY SWINGS AND WINGS
ALEX HUNT Independent Reporter
WELL-DRESSED TEDDIES STEAL THE SHOW!
(NANCY BICKELL PHOTO)
Children lined up with their teddy bears for the Best Dressed competition at the annual Teddy Bear Reunion, held this past Sunday, Aug. 17. See full story and photos on page 10
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St. Marys Museum offering a glimpse 519.225.2329 into historical health care with Medical Maladies exhibit CALL US FOR INQUIRIES AT
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GALEN SIMMONS Local Journalism Initiative Reporter
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For most of our history as a species, the ways in which we have treated our aches, pains, illnesses, infections and diseases was remarkably crude and, in many cases, lacking in scientific understanding. At the St. Marys Museum, Medical Maladies and Curious Cures, an exhibit running until January 2026 that was created by former museum intern Izzy Mitchell, explores that often gruesome history and the false cures and tonics that many of our ancestors and the town’s founders would have relied upon when they weren’t feeling their best. “Our former intern Izzy Mitchell had an interest in early 18th and 19th century med-
icine, so this was part of her undergraduate degree, researching this, and we thought it would make a really great topic for an exhibit,” said museum curator assistant Emily Taylor, who took the Independent on a recent tour of the exhibit. “We’ve done medical exhibits in the past, especially anything related to the history of the hospital and doctors in the community, but we noticed that we had a lot of weird medical cures in our collection and a lot of information related to that, so that’s what this exhibit centres on.” While there are plenty of tonic bottles and medical instruments on display, including a doctor’s bag from the 1930s and all of the tools and equipment a doctor would have
CARDIO-KICKBOXING
Jade Orquin spends her days connecting St. Marys residents to the resources they need most, from housing applications to health care, helping people rebuild their lives one step at a time. Orquin, the community outreach worker for the Town of St. Marys, said housing is the highest request for help she receives as residents struggle with paying their rent due to the high cost of living. Orquin says the provincewide crisis affects the community more than some may think. “If a person is on Ontario Disability, they’re receiving just over $1,000 a month and the average rent cost in St. Marys is around $1,800 for a bachelor apartment,” said Orquin. “They’re likely not able to afford it; there’s not a lot of low-income housing in this town. Orquin’s role as an outreach worker is to connect residents of St. Marys to essential resources, from transportation and health care to housing applications and financial support. She enjoys helping people in a variety of ways. Over time, Orquin has built close personal relationships with many clients, seeing some daily and others weekly. Orquin says there are a few programs in St. Marys, such as peer support, which provide
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Ron Morrison COLDWELL BANKER HOMEFIELD LEGACY REALTY, BROKERAGE
Broker for Coldwell Banker Homefield Legacy Realty, Brokerage 150 Queen Street East, St. Marys, ON Cell: 519-272-7666 | Office: 519-284-2381 *Each office is an independently owned & operated member broker of Coldwell Banker Affiliates of Canada
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