For this episode my guests are Leona McDermid, a resident at The Village of Riverside Glen, and her daughter Lori-Anne. The two tell stories from Leona’s life, how she met her husband, her first date and the origins of her “butterfly kisses”. They share how the two of them have kept a thread of creativity throughout their professional lives, Leona helping run the family business “McDermid Paper”, Lori-Anne a professional photographer, and the two collaborating at “Doodles”, a gift shop, photography studio and ice cream parlour in Rockwood. Both are examples of strong independent women who have utilized creativity to do amazing things - and this practice dates back generations: Leona’s mom traveled the world during WWII teaching women how to sew, to help them build independent skills to impress their husbands upon their return from the War. Leona’s mom ended up receiving the order of Canada for her work helping Ukranians come over to Canada. These are inspiring and vibrant women with a wonderful mother-daughter dynamic that makes for an entertaining listen, and I had a wonderful time hanging out with them! Thank you Leona and Lori-Anne for sharing!
This interview was originally recorded on Nov 6th, 2025