Success Stories
Please click on the links below for the full story.

Through The Cedars Music Production Co.
A flavourful mix of local musicians are the bread and butter of Paul and Rob's music production business and recording studio. But they also work with internationally known jazz musicians, and Paul relishes the memory of coiling up cables after a show at the Regent Theatre amiably assisted by Darryl and Dave, the world famous horn playing duo known as Chops Horns.
"Damn! I missed that night," says Rob …

Baitley Farm – Ontario Corn Fed Beef
John Baitley treasures the old faded deed for his family farm, dated 1914. He's the third generation of Baitleys to raise cattle on Consecon Street in Wellington. Fourth generation Curtis works alongside his dad on their 1600 acres and says "There's going to be one hell of a party here in 2014!" His father smiles and says wryly "I just hope I live that long!"…

Justin Williams – Teenaged Maple Maestro
First Nations people have made maple syrup for a thousand years. The early settlers sweetened their hardworking lives with it, and County farmers have made syrup for two centuries. Justin Williams has been making his own maple syrup for 10 years. Not a long time in the grand scheme of things, but more than half his lifetime …

Jackson Falls Schoolhouse – the little B&B that Grew
Pete and Nancy Fleck have turned their one room schoolhouse into a thriving and favourite County inn that welcomes family reunions, cycling groups and lost souls who turn up at the door at dusk …

Phonetics and Aesthetics in the County
Renia Tyminski Language Teacher
Why would a professional language teacher from Toronto choose Prince Edward County to immerse foreign students in the English language? “When students go into Picton probably everyone they talk to will be speaking English as their first language. That rarely happens in Toronto.” …

Level & Square – Rick Clarke
Rick Clarke is a fearless guy. Working 100 feet above the ground is just part of the job. “I’m not afraid of heights,” he says. “But I certainly do respect them.” He says barns are part of County heritage and is proud to help preserve them …

Teasel’s Drug Store – a rare independent pharmacy
Rick and Farenah Grant are the new owners of Teasel’s Drug Store, a 175 year old business on Main Street, Picton. “We’re taking this business into the future,” says Rick. “But we’re not Shoppers Drug Mart, and we don’t want to look like that.” He and Farenah, his wife and the new pharmacist, are injecting new life into the shop, but they respect its heritage which includes likely serving the young John A. Macdonald who worked across the street …

Investing in Property Development
Chris Skeat owns and develops properties in Prince Edward County. One of the first of the new investors to recognize the County’s potential, he had the courage of his convictions and the finances to pursue them. In 1994 Chris bought the Bristol Building (now home to Currah’s Café and the County Weekly) but remembers “When I first came there were more trying to get out of Main Street than get in…”

Therapy on the Bay – the gift of a healing touch
Bruce Foster is a registered physiotherapist who has been relieving patients’ pain for more than 30 years. In 2005, he and his wife, constitutional therapist Marilyn Holland-Foster, established Therapy on the Bay, just west of Northport and began a new chapter in the life of this remarkable man who overcame blindness to become a healer trained in traditional and alternative methods …

Bring Back the Barley?
Glenora Springs Brewery’s new owners hark back to the Barley Days. After a pause in production, the County’s microbrewery, Glenora Springs, is enjoying a new lease on life. One of GSB’s best customers, Barley Room Pub owner Chris Rogers, purchased the operation from founder John McKinney, and thus guaranteed his own supplies and local ownership of a unique County business …

Winding Up Trading Up
A group of PECI students will be putting away hard hats and work boots this summer along with their books and binders. The 21 participants in the first Trading Up skills training program have worked hard, and principal Helen Beck is proud …

Town Line Processing
Back in the 1980s, Elida and Elmer McFaul, built a food processing plant to handle the vegetables they grew on their Town Line Farm. Their project would now be called “a vertically integrated farming and processing production operation,” back then they called it “doing it ourselves.” The plant has changed hands and now processes nothing but the mighty carrot, but with production set to double, Town Line Processing is a County success story …

New Farm Venture - New Life
Dick Prinzen and his wife Sharon are pretty well known in the County. And not just for their fame as December pinups in the cheeky farmers calendar. Dick recently traded his dairy quota for a chicken quota, built a state-of-the-art chicken farm and started one of the most successful new farming operations in the County …

Foxes, Lambs and Foster Morgan
To leave the world a bit better, whether by a healthy child, a garden patch or a redeemed social condition.
To know even one life has breathed easier because you have lived. This is to have succeeded.
That’s an excerpt from a poem by Ralph Waldo Emerson that gives inspiration and validation to Kathleen Foster Morgan. Kathleen is a clinical psychotherapist specializing in grief and loss, and in her work she does indeed help grieving lives to breathe a little easier and helps troubled children to move from despair to health. Ralph Waldo would call that success …

A Good Old Fashioned Mechanic - Just What You Need
Carl Ferguson is an old fashioned mechanic - that’s what his customers like about him. Carl understands machines and how to fix them. He comes up with creative solutions to old and new mechanical problems and invents special tools when he needs them. Carl has been a mechanic for more than 40 years looking after County drivers and farmers and most recently County winemakers …

Raising Elk for Velvet Antlers
Graham and Leona Towers have a herd of majestic elk on Jericho Road in the County. They harvest “velvet antler” from their young bucks each year to sell to a world market hungry for its legendary healing properties. Graham wasn’t always a farmer, and his journey to becoming an elk farmer has been an interesting one …

Classy Couches from Consecon
Richard Myatt runs Avon Interiors in the little village, making custom furniture and reupholstering for designers, country clubs and wealthy clients as far away as Florida as well as recovering his neighbour’s old couch…

Mindful Movements - Personal fitness, growing business
What kind of industries are in the County? What kind would you like? Kathy Terpstra and Kym Riley are in the fitness industry. Their business is Mindful Movements and they have grown from two small rooms in a shop to their own custom designed, fully equipped building in Picton.

Merland Park Cottages
TV sport fishing guru Gord Pyzer calls it The Walleye Capital of the World. 120 million viewers saw Merland Park Cottages on television in 2005, and a single paragraph in “In-Fisherman” a U.S. magazine that claims to be the “World’s Foremost Authority on Freshwater Fishing,” resulted in 10 American bookings for Merland Park in two days.

Peggy de Witt County Photographer
It doesn’t take long for newcomers to the County to discover photographer Peggy de Witt and her feel-good images of lambs and sunsets, flowers and shorelines that capture the best of spring, summer, fall and winter in the County. Her note cards are everywhere, and she has a new gallery in Picton displaying her work.

Manor on the Loyalist Parkway
Manor on the Loyalist Parkway is a rather posh name for a warm, down to earth retirement home that sits prominently on the main artery of Prince Edward County. One of the County’s largest retirement homes, MLP (get used to initials because there’s more to come…) currently has 23 residents and a full service staff that includes PSWs (personal support workers) DSWs (Doctors of Social Work) and RPNs (registered practical nurses) plus cooks and housekeepers.

High Tech & Yoga on Big Island
When Michael and Linda Cooper moved to the County they traded a fine old century home for a patch of cedar bush close to the shore on Big Island - and a lot of hard work. But there was method in their madness. They lived on a small sailboat with two large dogs while they built the new house in the trees that would be the base for their two businesses.

Grand Bay Foods
There is a business in Picton that hums with activity year round and exports 98% of its product around the world - including a roaring trade with the U.S. The company is Grand Bay Foods, the product is fish and one-time commercial fisherman Brian McCormick is at the helm steering and growing his business.

Prince Edward Engines Service and Supply
Luigi Zullo and his wife Hilary repair and rebuild diesel engines in their factory just down the road from Lake on the Mountain. They moved here from the Caledon Hills, so they’re used to beautiful scenery. but the County’s warmth and friendliness came as a surprise.

Carruthers Sweet Success
Wayne Carruthers established his little luxury chocolate shop on the corner of Main and Corey Streets in Bloomfield in the year 2000. Since then he has grown Carruthers into a coffee shop, ice cream parlour, purveyor of specialty foods and all-round great place for shoppers to take a break, summer or winter.

In the Trust Business
Brent Timm’s title is Financial Associate. He helps people organize their finances and investments, whether that’s $50 or $500,000. He works with Farm Mutual Financial Services, but as his sign at a recent home show said “You don’t have to be a farmer to talk to me…”

The Amazing Avon Lady
When Karen Mulima hears complaints about lack of opportunity in the County, she seriously begs to differ. Karen is an Avon lady who has reached the top of her profession working locally. In 2004 she was declared the top sales rep in an enormous geographic area stretching from the Quebec border to Hudson Bay.

Stormy’s Car Sales and Automotive Services Centre
Hard to believe it’s a year since Stormy’s moved to the corner of Cold Storage Rd. and highway 33. Ten years after Chris Storms started the business on County Rd 1 with his dad, business and stock had increased so much he hardly had room to swing a truck. It was time to move.

Reachview Farm
Achim Mohssen-Beyk is an unusual name for a County farmer, and Achim is an unusual fellow. His heritage is Iranian and German, his passion is the environment and he has the distinction of raising the only certified organic quails in Ontario, along with ducks, geese turkeys and more..

Aman’s Abbatoir
Remember good old-fashioned butcher shops? Ted Aman is a butcher and a good one too but he’s not old-fashioned. Ted custom slaughters for local farmers and the current beef crisis has almost doubled his business as farmers reject ridiculously low prices and seek to sell their beef directly.

BJ’s Big Birds
Barry Jenkins raises emus - not ostriches - emus. What’s the difference? Emus are shorter, friendlier and all round lovelier according to Barry. Emus fascinated Barry from the very first time he saw one, and his fascination has turned into a successful bird breeding business.

Campbells Orchards
Diane and Colin Campbell grow apples about as far north in the County as you can go. Campbells Orchards was founded in the 1970s by Colin’s father, but the old farm’s reputation for apples goes back much further. One customer has bought apples there since the 1930’s, and one bite of their magnificent fruit explains why.

Gourmet Goats
Sonja Ianuzzi knows a lot about goats, Dino knows a lot about business. Together they’re building a rosy future and a herd of goats at Capricorn View Farm. Prizewinners for their gourmet goat dish at TASTE! a celebration of regional cuisine, Sonja and Dino are also poised to supply a new cheesemaking operation in the County with creamy fresh goat milk.

Moore Organics
Not long ago, Bill Moore was wrestling with heavy chores and not much satisfaction in his role of supervisor for a Toronto condominium. A sharp pain in his heart gave him the message it was time to change his way of life. Now he whistles as he works on his compost heap on the family farm in Cherry Valley, and even the whiff of fish guts (terrific for organic compost) can’t take away his pleasure in returning to his roots.

Christmas Harvest
For Ray and Jean Moore, harvest time is not about golden leaves and fat pumpkins. When you’re a Christmas tree farmer, harvest time is about snowballs and fairy lights and Santa Claus parades.

Olivia & Co.
You won’t find Olivia in Olivia & Co., Picton’s terrific used book store. That much-loved cat has gone to the big cushion in the sky, and the bookshop’s actual owner is Alexandra Bake. Warm and witty with a passion for old books, Alex made a lot of people very happy when she took over the shop.

Artists as an Economic Force
Peta Hall is an artist, an organizer and a passionate believer in art as an economic force. “The contribution of County artists is undervalued. We don’t just add local colour,” she says. “There are more than 200 of us here, we’re all independent businesspeople and very much part of the local economy.” Outspoken, feisty and very colourful herself, Peta Hall is a tour de force.

Spreading the Wellness Word
What's the difference between therapeutic and purely indulgent massage and spa treatments? Not much on the receiving end, because they both feel great, according to experienced massage therapist Arlene Wilkinson. She says "The difference is in whose giving it." Arlene has her own established Nightingales Spa in Bloomfield, a mobile spa service and the position of spa director at the luxurious new Claramount. She promotes professional massage and therapy but is equally enthusiastic about self-care and her new shop. Spaah-go provides everything you need for a home spa experience.

Thunder Rolls Into Town
There is a place not far from here where you can buy a vintage Harley Davison complete with fringed leather, polished chrome and lots of attitude. It sits gleaming in the Thunder Cycle and Sports showroom amid thoroughly modern little scooters and ATVs. Thunder Cycle & Sport opened in Spring 2004 to provide sales, service, parts and accessories for bikes, boats, RVs etc. Owners Frank Eldridge and Jim Green have a vintage look themselves with their Easy Rider hair and gruff voices, oily overalls and the kind of extreme mechanical expertise rare these days.

Famous Fairy Folk.
Famous people live and work quietly in the County - not tabloid celebrities but experts, specialists and artists famous in their own fields including a hardworking couple regarded by many as King and Queen of the Fairies. Terry Wolfert and Teresa Fischer create porcelain fairies that sell all over the world. They have won a coveted place in the One-of-a-Kind Hall of Fame and five Golden Web awards for their website, and international collectors clamour to buy their special edition fairies.

Diane Walker's Greenhouses - Perennial Favourites
County gardeners do love their flowers - and herbs and fruits and vegetables and shrubs and vines and baskets - and we're particularly well served with garden centres. Some of slip on old comfy shoes and make the long trek round every retail outlet to see what's new, but everybody has a favourite place, and for many it's Diane Walker's greenhouses in Milford.

Is Slickers ice cream an essential food group?
Six years ago Bloomfield residents Pat Hacker and Marie Frye wanted a creative business to pay the bills and keep them busy. Careful what you wish for. Pat and Marie's Slickers Ice Cream is wildly popular and keeps very busy creating fabulous flavours like “Campfire,” tasting of toasted marshmallows, campfires and summer nights. The ice cream divas have taken the company from the tiny corner of a pizza parlour to nationwide online sales.

Boat building back in the County
They're building boats in the County again! Not mighty wooden schooners but colourful lightweight craft designed and built by the bold young company, Clearwater Designs. Canada's largest canoe and kayak manufacturer moved its operation from Kingston to the shores of Quinte Bay on Northport Road. They have breathed new life into an old factory, increased their output and hired and trained 13 local workers.

Something Good Growing by the Lake
Kathy Kennedy and David Littman are no strangers to hard work and stiff challenges. They found both in Prince Edward County and also found a great way to live in the country and work together with their family around them. Initially wanting to grow grapes they instead grew a thriving hospitality business, turning a rambling lakeside house into a stylish little “boutique” hotel. On their very first visit to the County, they saw their future.

Bow-wow beds and bean bags
Drop 'n Flop – it's a catchy name that perfectly describes how cats, dogs and humans use this Bloomfield company's products - squooshy pet beds and bean bags. High ceilings and lots of work space at a low, low price are two things that brought this groovy little manufacturer to the County. But manager Eric Zylstra is also delighted to be home.

Cow Comfort Pays Off
Twins Gerald Pulver and Geraldine (Gerry) Leavitt are the sixth generation to run Goreland Farm in Prince Edward County. You couldn't get Gerald off the tractor from the time he was eight, and although Gerry had plans to be a wildlife biologist after college, she missed the farm and knew she could help her brother achieve great things right here. She was right. They have brought Goreland firmly into the 21st century as one of the largest and most modern operations in Ontario. How did they do it? Research, hard work, a brand new barn and something they call “cow comfort.”

1950s Mustang Drive-In
A historical site with attitude!
To a lot of folks, the 1950s Mustang Drive-In is right up there with the Regent Theatre as a County cultural icon. It's a successful mix of Back-to-the-Future nostalgia and first run movies. Paul and Nancy Peterson knew very little about running a drive-in when they bought it in 1988 but they learned fast and have turned the Mustang into a favourite for all ages - families, courting couples, nostalgia buffs and anyone who prefers their blockbusters under a night sky. This year the grand old screen was joined by a smaller screen to double the fun

With its handsome red painted feed bins...
and service counters that would look right at home in a Roots store, the new County Farm Centre has plenty of space and plenty of style. Despite these upmarket touches, the farm centre serves a traditional customer base of rural farmers. But now the urban crowd is coming to shop too - those who prefer a good old country store to the "big box" discount centres across the bridge.

The county's biggest fans come from Bloomfield
If you don't believe that, check out this photo of the enormous industrial fans recently shipped from Bloomfield to Alabama by Universal Fan and Blower - a small County company with a big international reputation and customers all over the world. Universal's director Arnold Robb is very proud of his company and of the County, too. But when he first arrived here from the U.K. he thought he'd made a big mistake.

Catering to the County - Jennifer Ackerman
Despite her diminutive size Jennifer Ackerman has the strength, stamina and spirit of a tri-athlete. From hurling pizza dough and hefting turkeys to loading a big truck with party supplies for 300, Jennifer can and does do it all. Jenn's business, Celebrations Catering and Party Rentals, is the magic behind County food events from seniors lunches to lavish, outdoor weddings.

Long Service, Full Service, Great Service
Frank and Linda Wilson and their full-service Sunoco station have been a fixture on Main Street, Picton for 26 years. The place is lively and a great mix of old fashioned service and new technology. A little like ?"Back to the Future" as the forecourt crew bustles around your car washing this and checking that, seemingly as cheerful in freezing February as they are in sweltering August. A Sunoco station since 1946 the site was a service station for decades even before that. February 2003

The Lady and the Lambs
When Linda Swaine tells you she runs a "value-added farming operation", it's no surprise that she has marketing in her background! But for the past 15 years her life has been about sheep farming, progressing from 9 acres in British Columbia to a large spread in Prince Edward County. The rambling farmhouse and outbuildings she bought here had all seen better days but the worst they ever did see was when a ferocious February wind collapsed the barn to its stone foundations, leaving Linda scrambling to house dozens of pregnant ewes. She did it without losing any, and the lambs were born in the makeshift spaces she managed to cobble together. Sheep farming is always hard work but thankfully that kind of excitement is rare!

The Gifted Basket
Noreen Vader loves special things and knows just where to find them So she created her business, The Gifted Basket, and says? "I'm like a personal shopper for people who don't know where to start to find special gifts or don't have time to shop around." she says. Noreen prepares beautiful customized gift baskets and for a fun twist also offers giant balloons filled with anything from stuffed toys to sexy lingerie! It's a fun business, but the path that led her to it has been anything but frivolous. Picton Gazette, January 29, 2003

The Little Shop That Grew
It's spring at last. And here come the birds and the flowers and the flocks of shoppers fluttering around Bloomfield. Shyrl Nussey runs three of the shops that attract those flocks - Terra Florens for home décor and Garb and Brag for dressy and casual ladies wear. Call her a retail mogul, she just smiles and says "If I could fit everything into one store, I would. It just happened this way. ?" But it's fun to go in and out of her different doorways and across the street to check everything out.

Bloomfield Bicycle Company
Ladies and gentlemen, this is the B.B.C. That's the Bloomfield Bicycle Company, with all the variety, comedy and drama and twice the action of that other B.B.C. Katy Misener and Rick Willing's shop is a great attraction for County folk and visitors from April to October. They've got bikes, bikes and more bikes, and if your own machine is sick, you won't find a finer team of bike medics. The Bloomfield Bicycle Shop, it's a traditional bike shop with a funky twist.

County Agriculture in Miniature - Vickie's Veggies
Vickie Emlaw is County born and raised on a farm, but she traveled the world on a shoestring for ten years before returning to start an organic market garden she calls Vickie's Veggies. Her growing techniques are pure and simple and her produce delicious, including vegetables grown from heritage seeds, virtually unchanged from the time of the earliest settlers. She evens sells "shares" in her crop, providing weekly bags of fresh produce all season to families who pay upfront for their share in the spring - a clever way to ensure cash flow!

Prince Edward County's Tour de Force
Each year the Prince Edward County Studio and Gallery Tour tempts thousands of art and craft lovers to travel the length and breadth of the County to visit artists and craftspeople on a special weekend. Visitors from just down the road join visitors from the other side of the world to enjoy the up close and personal glimpse into the lives and work spaces of of artists. The Ontario Crafts Council magazine applauds the tour's smooth operation, calling it a tour de force. Long time organizer, Bloomfield potter, Peta Hall, says "It's all about establishing a connection with people, that's the driving force behind the tour." And the secret of its success. Other communities come to the County for advice on starting or improving their own studio tours.

On a Technology Mission
From managing the deli counter to owning and managing internet and computer services companies, Anne Van Vlack is on a mission to bring the best of new technology to the "best place to live in Ontario" (Ontario Social Development Council).

Machinist Not Just a Number
Tom Wiltse never wanted to work in the big city. So he built up his own business in a spacious Wellington machine shop with well-used and well-kept lathes and presses and classic rock in the background.

Giving Back to the Earth
If you think organic farming is just about fashionable vegetables, think again. Ken and Joan Marisetteâs organic crops include barley, spelt and triticale, humble grains used for animal feed and flour.

County gallery introduces SmartArt
Paulette Greer of the Sidestreet Gallery launches an art rental company to give customers the pleasure of original art without actually buying it. - Picton Gazette, March 27, 2002

Fanciful cakes are serious business
Christian Marchsteiner is a world-class pastry chef who came to the County via Austria, Bejing and Malaysia, settled in Bloomfield and opened a European-style cafe and patisserie. - Picton Gazette, January 23, 2002.

County shampoo makes global waves
Head Lice killing herbal potion attracts world-wide attention... a mother at her wits end finds necessity is mother of invention. - Picton Gazette, August 15, 2001