menu_open Columnists
Jim And Lisa Gilbert

Jim And Lisa Gilbert

Sarnia Observer

We use cookies to provide some features and experiences in QOSHE

More information  .  Close

Gilberts: The disaster staycation tour a suggested day trip in area

Gilberts: The disaster staycation tour a suggested day trip in area

On Easter Monday, Jim suggested that we take a drive and his suggested destination was a place we have been to a few times before.

10.04.2026 7

Sarnia Observer

Jim And Lisa Gilbert

Gilberts: A great baseball story you’ve probably never heard of

03.04.2026 20

Sarnia Observer

Jim And Lisa Gilbert

Gilberts: More Tupperville stories from Melba Simpson

Share this Story : The Sarnia Observer Copy Link Email X Reddit Pinterest LinkedIn Tumblr Gilberts: More Tupperville stories from Melba Simpson This...

27.03.2026 10

Sarnia Observer

Jim And Lisa Gilbert

Gilberts: A look at Melba Simpson’s Tupperville

20.03.2026 30

Sarnia Observer

Jim And Lisa Gilbert

Gilberts: This Dresden story deserves to be better known

The province created the Ontario Water Resources Commission, which began to regulate and provide financial help to develop things like water treatment...

13.03.2026 30

Sarnia Observer

Jim And Lisa Gilbert

Gilberts: Bob Seger and company rocked Rondeau Pavilion

In August I wrote about the Rondeau Pavilions, in advance of a plaque unveiling on Labour Day weekend.

05.03.2026 30

Sarnia Observer

Jim And Lisa Gilbert

Gilberts: Chatham-Kent set to mark Heritage Week

February in Ontario (and many other places) is generally considered to be the month to focus on our heritage.

20.02.2026 30

Sarnia Observer

Jim And Lisa Gilbert

Gilberts: Merchant John McGregor played important role in Upper Canada

We are here to talk about merchant John McGregor, who owned the mill at the Forks (Chatham)

13.02.2026 20

Sarnia Observer

Jim And Lisa Gilbert

Gilberts: Will the real John McGregor please stand up?

A bust in the front hall at John McGregor secondary school portrays him as a military man.

07.02.2026 10

Sarnia Observer

Jim And Lisa Gilbert

Gilberts: Dawn Mills important early settlement on Sydenham River

24.01.2026 10

Sarnia Observer

Jim And Lisa Gilbert

Gilberts: Many Baldoon settlers played role in founding Wallaceburg

17.01.2026 10

Sarnia Observer

Jim And Lisa Gilbert

Gilberts: Annexation anxiety not a new thing

One of the things mentioned in the Dec. 5, 1888 issue of the Chatham Tri-Weekly Planet was the latest movement in the U.S. to annex Canada.

09.01.2026 20

Sarnia Observer

Jim And Lisa Gilbert

Gilberts: New Year's Day 1889 saw eclipse, new Chatham mayor

Imagine my surprise when I found out that we talked about the U.S. wanting to annex Canada!

02.01.2026 10

Sarnia Observer

Jim And Lisa Gilbert

Gilberts: Sharing our Christmas memories

26.12.2025 10

Sarnia Observer

Jim And Lisa Gilbert

Gilberts: A look back at 20th-century Chatham-Kent Christmases

We continue our sleigh ride back in time with a visit to Chatham-Kent in November 1925

19.12.2025 10

Sarnia Observer

Jim And Lisa Gilbert

Gilberts: Early Christmas seasons were not as materialistic as today’s

12.12.2025 8

Sarnia Observer

Jim And Lisa Gilbert

Gilberts: Soutar was a source for history

When I read other things written about Chatham in the latter 19th century, they often mention Soutar, the book's author.

08.12.2025 9

Sarnia Observer

Jim And Lisa Gilbert

Gilberts: 71 years of Chatham Goodfellows helping families at Christmas

28.11.2025 9

Sarnia Observer

Jim And Lisa Gilbert

Gilberts: Tecumseh's brother found fame, influence first

14.11.2025 8

Sarnia Observer

Jim And Lisa Gilbert

Gilberts: Chief Tecumseh portrayed unfairly in many accounts

07.11.2025 9

Sarnia Observer

Jim And Lisa Gilbert

Gilberts: Victor Lauriston – A writer of many talents

We are picking up our series detailing and discussing the various chapters in the Kent Historical Society’s publication called Kentiana.

31.10.2025 6

Sarnia Observer

Jim And Lisa Gilbert

Gilberts: St. Thomas Anglican Church celebrating sesquicentennial

24.10.2025 20

Sarnia Observer

Jim And Lisa Gilbert

Gilberts: Final three historical plaques for 2025 being unveiled

Recently, I told you about historical plaques being unveiled in the municipality. Three more are being unveiled this week

22.10.2025 10

Sarnia Observer

Jim And Lisa Gilbert

Gilberts: Something new for cemetery strolls this year

22.10.2025 6

Sarnia Observer

Jim And Lisa Gilbert

Gilberts: Something new for cemetery strolls this year

17.10.2025 10

Sarnia Observer

Jim And Lisa Gilbert

Gilberts: Final three historical plaques for 2025 being unveiled

10.10.2025 10

Sarnia Observer

Jim And Lisa Gilbert

Gilberts: How Chatham-Kent filled Second World War farm labour gaps

03.10.2025 7

Sarnia Observer

Jim And Lisa Gilbert

Gilberts: Farmerettes an interesting part of Second World War history

19.09.2025 10

Sarnia Observer

Jim And Lisa Gilbert

Gilberts: Pain Court's post office fight helped French endure

12.09.2025 10

Sarnia Observer

Jim And Lisa Gilbert

Gilberts: The story of the Jesuit pear

This week I’d like to shed a little light on an intriguing story about trees.

05.09.2025 10

Sarnia Observer

Jim And Lisa Gilbert

Gilberts: Plaque unveilings reveal rich history of our area

A couple of plaque unveilings are happening in Chatham-Kent on Labour Day weekend.

23.08.2025 9

Sarnia Observer

Jim And Lisa Gilbert

Gilberts: Chatham Concert Band still sizzling after almost a century

For almost a century, Chatham citizens have been treated to free weekly summer concert in Tecumseh Park.

16.08.2025 10

Sarnia Observer

Jim And Lisa Gilbert

Gilberts: The inspired, but tragic life of Chatham genius W.E. Hamilton

09.08.2025 10

Sarnia Observer

Jim And Lisa Gilbert

Gilberts: Other interesting books about the Baldoon settlement

Perhaps the best-known book about the Baldoon settlement was published in 1978, called Baldoon: Lord Selkirk’s Settlement in Upper Canada.

31.07.2025 10

Sarnia Observer

Jim And Lisa Gilbert

Gilberts: Other interesting books about the Baldoon settlement

25.07.2025 10

Sarnia Observer

Jim And Lisa Gilbert

Gilberts: Exploring the rest of the Baldoon Settlement story

So far in our discussion, we have spoken only about how the Scottish Highlanders got to the land along the Chenail Ecarte.

18.07.2025 10

Sarnia Observer

Jim And Lisa Gilbert

Gilberts: Remembering George Mitchell, Wallaceburg doctor and historian

11.07.2025 10

Sarnia Observer

Jim And Lisa Gilbert

Gilberts: Lord Selkirk’s Baldoon Settlement had rough start

04.07.2025 20

Sarnia Observer

Jim And Lisa Gilbert

Gilberts: Ridgetown kicks off 150th anniversary celebrations

27.06.2025 10

Sarnia Observer

Jim And Lisa Gilbert

Gilberts: Wallaceburg fetes 150th on Canada Day weekend

This year, two Chatham-Kent communities, Ridgetown and Wallaceburg, mark their sesquicentennials. Both were incorporated as towns in 1875 and both...

20.06.2025 10

Sarnia Observer

Jim And Lisa Gilbert

Gilberts: The keys to building a friendly and sustainable community

This week I decided to do something a little different.

14.06.2025 10

Sarnia Observer

Jim And Lisa Gilbert

Gilberts: Take a walk on Chatham's dark side this summer

Summer – when hot days mean swimming in a lake or pool, outdoor sports and backyard barbecues and nights mean ghost walks!

06.06.2025 10

Sarnia Observer

Jim And Lisa Gilbert

Gilberts: The conditions of early surveying tough

30.05.2025 10

Sarnia Observer

Jim And Lisa Gilbert

Gilberts: More early times in Chatham-Kent

09.05.2025 10

Sarnia Observer

Jim And Lisa Gilbert

Gilberts: Fred Coyne Hamil – Kent County’s pre-eminent historian

11.04.2025 10

Sarnia Observer

Jim And Lisa Gilbert

Gilberts: Fairfield was North America's longest-lived Moravian mission

04.04.2025 10

Sarnia Observer

Jim And Lisa Gilbert

Gilberts: Another look at Native-Lived Colonialism

This week, we’ll focus on one chapter of Neal Ferris’s book, Native-Lived Colonialism: Challenging History in the Great Lakes.

21.03.2025 20

Sarnia Observer

Jim And Lisa Gilbert

Gilberts: Native history in Ontario; correcting record through archeology

14.03.2025 20

Sarnia Observer

Jim And Lisa Gilbert

Gilberts: The Mann legacy of chronicling Wallaceburg history

07.03.2025 10

Sarnia Observer

Jim And Lisa Gilbert

Gilberts: Kentiana papers recall local archeological digs

Last week, we began a series of articles based on papers collected as part of Kentiana, a 1939 Kent Historical Society (KHS) publication.

01.03.2025 10

Sarnia Observer

Jim And Lisa Gilbert