For more than three decades, countless young children have learned to swim in Joy Dawdy’s backyard pool.Her daughter, Brittany, is proud of the fact that some of those youngsters have gone on to become swim instructors themselves.
And, just like the City of St. Thomas, which will enact a personal flotation device bylaw in the aftermath of the drowning of Ryan Davies last fall in Lake Margaret, Dawdy is doing her bit to promote water safety.
This is her third location for conducting the swimming classes, she explained in a conversation yesterday (July 4). She currently lives near Central Elgin Collegiate Institute.
“Before this, I was doing it at our home on Balaclava Street, and it initially started at my parents’ house on Hughes Street.”
She mapped out how the classes operate.
“So it’s Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday for a two-week time frame. And it’s half an hour per day, per class.
“I go 9 till noon, and then I’m doing 4:30 to 6.30 p.m.”
No early morning classes, and she shuts things down early in the evening.A manageable setup for both the students and their parents.
And for her neighbours, it would appear . . . with one possible exception.
She received an anonymous letter back in 2020 complaining about noise and parking, in what the individual described as an illegal business operating out of her home.
Now, home-based businesses are permitted under the existing city zoning bylaw.
So, it is possible to operate a daycare business, a seniors’ facility and even a church under the bylaw.
Without being trivial, if Dawdy were to offer a prayer before and after class and perhaps a short scripture reading, would she comply?
In any event, she has had conversations with the city and sought legal advice.
City staff advise that an amendment to the existing zoning bylaw – which does allow home-based businesses – would be required.
Hitting Dawdy with a $1,500 bill.
“Now, last year, what happened was one of the bylaw enforcement officers came around and said that there had been a complaint, and I could no longer continue. So at that point, I was like okay, so like how do I try and change this?
“And then I had a meeting with the planning department back in March, and there were five or six people there, and they were all saying you’ve got to get a zoning bylaw change.”
And remember, there are numerous swimming pools in the neighbourhood, so the problem does not lie there.
“I would rather this neighbour just come over, have a civil conversation and say, hey, we like to eat outside at 6:30. No problem. I’ll stop teaching at six o’clock. You know, let’s find a common ground. Let’s be neighbours. Let’s compromise.”
By amending the bylaw, how does that alleviate the noise and parking issues?
Dawdy already has parents park in the high school lot instead of curbside.
During this current hot spell we are enduring, if Dawdy were to invite grandchildren and a few of their friends over each afternoon for a swim, would that not present a noise issue?
Dawdy’s swimming students are listening to her instructions and not jumping and splashing around in the water, so how noisy can it be?
During her meeting with city staff, Dawdy was advised, “that it could take them up to three months to review it and that as long as the application was in there was really no way that they could enforce it.”
With her legal counsel on holiday, the application for a zoning bylaw amendment has not yet been filed.
In the meantime, Dawdy is attempting to appear before city council as a deputation; however, city staff are standing firm on a zoning bylaw amendment as the only solution moving forward.
“I would rather this neighbour just come over, have a civil conversation and say, hey, we like to eat outside at 6:30. No problem. I’ll stop teaching at six o’clock. You know, let’s find a common ground. Let’s be neighbours. Let’s compromise.”
There we go . . . common sense butting heads with city hall bureaucracy.
How often have members of council and city staff proclaimed to anyone who will listen that St. Thomas is open for business?
It happened with the EV battery gigafactory. Rules were bent and broken, land was hoisted from a neighbouring municipality, boundaries were redrawn, and massive amounts of dollars were paid out to landowners.
In Joy Dawdy’s case, it’s a matter of playing by the rules, or we shut you down.
JUMBOMANIA HITS THE REGION
To mark the 140th anniversary of the death of Jumbo, the Great African Elephant, the Jumbomania exhibit is underway at the Elgin County Heritage Centre.
According to the media release, “Jumbomania explores how one extraordinary animal rose to international stardom and became a cultural icon whose name still resonates today.”
The exhibit is curated by Dariusz Korbiel, whom we will speak with in this corner next week.
In the meantime, we checked in this week with the area’s Jumbo expert, Steve Peters, on the lasting legacy of the elephant struck and killed by a train in St. Thomas on Sept. 15, 1885.
In that time, how many businesses have operated in St. Thomas and Elgin with Jumbo as part of their name?
Why, even NHL Hall of Famer Joe Thornton eventually got tagged with Jumbo Joe.
Peters advised, “The origins of the name were a little bit clouded. There are references in dictionaries in the 1820s to Jumbo being referred to as something clumsy and awkward.
“But, you know, there’s even back into the 18th century, there was an Indian god, a Hindu god known as Mumbo Jumbo. And when you look at images of Mumbo Jumbo, he is this big god. So, the name has been around for a long time, but it really has stuck with Jumbo.
“One of the challenges we’re not one hundred per cent sure of is when Jumbo was given the name Jumbo. We don’t believe he was named Jumbo in the Paris Zoo, but not long after he arrived in London (England) Zoo in 1865, the name was given to him.”
How many variations of the name are there?
Try jumbo jet, Jumbotron, jumbo shrimp and, of course, jumbo hot dog.
Which begs the question, just how big was Jumbo?
Peters noted, “A number of years ago, David Suzuki and David Attenborough had the opportunity to examine the bones at the Museum of Natural History in New York City, and they had some pathologists look as well.
“Certainly you could see the wear and tear on his body, but, you know, Jumbo could have lived for a lot longer, that’s for sure.”
“Darius has just done an outstanding job of collecting images of Jumbo from Jumbo’s earliest days to Jumbo at the zoo and Jumbo making the trek to the United States.”
Peters brought forward a little-known fact.
The day after Jumbo was killed in St. Thomas, he was scheduled to appear up the tracks in London.
At this point, he paints a unique picture of Jumbo.
“Well, and of course, the other little fun trivia thing that I like to have is to remind people to take the map of Ontario and point Windsor and Detroit to the north, and southwestern Ontario has the shape of an elephant.
“Its trunk goes to Windsor. One of its legs is Long Point, and its tail goes up to Tobermory. And we won’t say what part of Jumbo’s anatomy Owen Sound is.”
Peters has taken in the exhibit and is impressed.
“Darius has just done an outstanding job of collecting images of Jumbo from Jumbo’s earliest days to Jumbo at the zoo and Jumbo making the trek to the United States.
“He’s spent countless hours researching this project and has come up with some images that I’ve never seen before. I was just mesmerized when I was there. And the highlight of the thing is, there’s a life-size image of Jumbo and Matthew Scott (Jumbo’s long-time keeper) against the wall. And it will be a fun thing for people to have their photograph taken in front of.”
Now, what about the Jumbo monument at the west end of Talbot Street?
“There are a number of things about the monument that don’t accurately depict Jumbo,” noted Peters.
“One is Jumbo never had the long tusks that he has. Jumbo has five toenails on each foot. Well, there’s no elephant that has five toenails on each foot. So, you know, there are a few things.”
We asked Peters why the monument is located overlooking Talbot Street, some distance from where Jumbo was struck by the train.
“According to the Hindu custom, elephants bring you the best luck if they’re facing the east, and that’s the way he’s facing.”
“There was a bit of a debate in 1985 as to where to put Jumbo. You know, some talked about putting him near the location where he was killed. They talked about Pinafore Park, but you know Doug Tarry (the former mayor of St. Thomas) and his team were able to convince the city that it should be located at the west entrance of the city.
“I think one of the things that people have often said to me over the years is, you know, why is it that you are driving up Talbot Street Hill and Jumbo’s rear end welcomes you to the city?
“According to the Hindu custom, elephants bring you the best luck if they’re facing the east, and that’s the way he’s facing.”
All the more reason to take in Jumbomania, and here are the details.
📅 Duration: July 2, 2025 – March 20, 2026
⏰ Hours: Tuesdays – Saturdays: 10 a.m. – 4 p.m.
📍 Location: Elgin County Heritage Centre (460 Sunset Drive)
🚗 Parking: Please park behind the County Building next door, entrance off Karen St.
💵 Admission: Free
A LIFE THAT HAS REVOLVED AROUND DRAWINGS
To build on last week’s celebration of The Annex’s third anniversary, let’s spotlight one of their unheralded success stories.
In a room tucked away at the rear of the addiction resource centre and outreach program of the Grace Café is a tiny art gallery/workshop informally known as Annex Art.
The current artist in residence is Gerry Arnold, whose artistic messages adorn the four walls of the room.
It’s a new concept undertaken by Executive Director Mike Toth and the staff.
“In January, Mike came to me and offered me this space,” explained Arnold. “I was recovering from surgery at the time. And he says, even if I just wanted to come in and have a place to paint while I’m recovering.”
Arnold talked about the therapeutic value of his artistic creations.
“It started about seven years ago when I was walking along the beach. And I used to do art in high school. And I saw some driftwood and I thought, I can make something with it.
“And a couple of months later, I met some people and got doing art again. I suffer from PTSD myself.
“And I could not talk about a lot of the things. And so I started using my art as a way to express things that I’d never talked about.
“Not just inner feelings, but even events that I wouldn’t talk about, actual events from my past that I wouldn’t talk about.
“I was literally talking third person to a counsellor by just taking a painting.
“If this was a painting of myself in some situation, I would take it and I would just sit there and talk in third person and tell the counsellor what the painting’s about.
“And by telling them what it’s about, I’m actually telling them my story. I’m telling them my pain, my whatever.”
In essence, Arnold’s paintings have an audio component to them.
“So this year, I felt I needed to talk about the marginalized. And all these paintings that are painted grey are talking about the marginalized in society.
“Even the licence plate I put there. I used our Ontario model, but I took Ontario out and put the disabled symbol in place of it because, you know, my world deals with a lot of disability.
“Some of these paintings are from things I see in society between London and St. Thomas. This one was based on something I actually saw in a parking lot.
“How many times do you see people walking by a homeless person, but they’ll feed the dog on the street? The homeless dog is more important than the human being.”
Arnold points to another one of his thought-provoking works.
“This is based on something I saw outside of a hospital where a homeless person is sitting in the bush. There’s no bed for them in the hospital, and the police have to come and remove them.
“And see, even like over here, you know, how often do you see all are welcome, but for a disabled person, how do they get up the staircase in their wheelchair?
“We marginalize people through so many different things. Yeah. It could be gender, it can be sex, it can be anything. Or looking different than someone else. I mean, in my own family, I don’t fit in. I’m a foot taller than everybody else.”
Does the creator of these painted statements feel marginalized?
“In some ways, yes. But I don’t worry about it.”
“I went from drawings to reading drawings. So my life revolved around drawings, whether they be mechanical drafting or art. Yeah. It’s always revolved around some form of drawing.”
To illustrate that point, Arnold points to another of his works.
“This one here is probably the closest to my own story. It’s talking about the brokenness. I actually presented a picture of it to a number of my friends and said, you tell me your story that you see in that painting.
“I’ll tell you mine afterwards, but you tell me your story. And for me, the title of it is Broken. That expresses virtually everything you see in there for me personally.”
The painting is of an abandoned mobility walker.
“But other people see many different things in there. Some people see hope because there is nobody with the walker. Some people see hopelessness. Some people see all these different things, and they’re all valid.
“And so art’s not just meant for only my story to be told. It’s meant for everyone’s story to be told.”
Arnold lived in the Barrie area before moving to St. Thomas for an employment opportunity.
“I got a job. I started as a draftsman. And I got into quality assurance, and I came down here back when the Freightliner (Sterling Trucks) plant opened.
“I went from drawings to reading drawings. So my life revolved around drawings, whether they be mechanical drafting or art. Yeah. It’s always revolved around some form of drawing.”
Which he continues to undertake at Annex Art.
“I live in town, and I have a lot of medical appointments. Yeah. I’m officially considered disabled, although if you look at me, you wouldn’t be able to tell.
“So I probably have five medical appointments a week. And so I come here often in the morning. Not every day. Also, one day a week, I paint at City Art Centre in London.”
His story illustrates the value of not judging a book by its cover.
In Arnold’s case, there is much to find inside his artwork.
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THE ECHO CHAMBER
In response to last week’s item on The Annex, Kevin Smith would like a question answered.
“Sounds like the Annex Centre is doing great work in helping those suffering from addiction. I believe that the Executive Director of Annex, Mike Toth has a good idea in wanting to create a pre-treatment facility. At least his explanation makes sense to me.
“My question is, how can we make this happen?”
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And a reminder, I can be heard weekday afternoons as news anchor and reporter on 94.1 myFM in St. Thomas. As always, your comments and input are appreciated.
