By Kelly Burgess, Bruce Peninsula Press
It is without a doubt that many people have suffered tremendous loss and devastation during this pandemic. We have been bombarded with news stories of negativity over the past two years. Even an optimistic “glass half full” person has been worn down during these trying times. While there are some positive aspects of Covid throughout the world, there are many right here in the Northern Bruce Peninsula. Hopefully these positives will help us reflect with a more optimistic attitude as we continue our journey through the pandemic.
Bill Floyd and Sheri McHardy, a married couple who now reside in Pike Bay, shared many of the positive aspects they were fortunate to experience during the pandemic. Being in Lockdown provided the opportunity for many people to get outside and explore the beauty of the Bruce. “We had the time to enjoy the outdoors and do lots of hiking and exploring on “new to us” trails despite being in the area for over 55 years,” Sheri explained. They visited many hiking trails throughout the peninsula with their other Covid positive, their puppy Maris. “We were able to spend so much time with her as a puppy because of Covid,” McHardy expressed.
The Pike Place Ice Palace
Although Sheri and Bill recently made the permanent move to Pike Bay, the McHardys had a cottage and have been a part of this area for many decades. They were be able to take advantage of the inflated housing market (due to Covid) and sell their home in Meaford, moving up to their cottage a year earlier than they had originally planned.
While enjoying outdoor fires and visits with friends, they decided to build an outdoor skating rink on the bay creating a safe activity everyone can enjoy during Covid restrictions. Although it is Covid safe, McHardy added that it is a little risky for those of a certain age. “Usually, people our age try to avoid the ice but yet here we are trying to create smooth and slippery ice!” They are optimistic that they can have their nieces and nephews up to skate at the “Pike Place Ice Palace” on Family Day weekend. They missed out on that visit last year due to Covid restrictions.
Silver Lining for Business
Even though many businesses were negatively impacted financially due to Covid restrictions, some were able to find a silver lining during this time.
MaryDale Ashcroft, owner of The Dandy Lion and Aunt Donkey’s in Lion’s Head emphasized, “On the business side of things, Covid has been interesting to say the least”. She made the decision to keep the stores closed in the first year of the pandemic for the safety of the community, especially during the tourist season. With the store being closed, she had no choice but to go online so that customers could have access to store inventory. Although she had already planned on putting in an inventory management system, being closed afforded her the time to do that. “Having that system in place has been beneficial and the online sales especially during lockdown have been pretty good”, she explained.
Another upside of Covid for her was that it gave her the time to renovate The Dandy Lion basement and relocate Aunt Donkey’s, creating one location for both stores. “That has been huge!”, she emphasized. “My Coles notes on Covid is this; it has reduced my income exponentially but has afforded me the time to make changes that I likely would not have done so quickly.”
