I love entrepreneurship —taking business risks in the hope of profit. It’s the engine that drove the founding of this country, from fishing and the fur trade to pioneer settlers who came here to build a better life. Even today, with the pandemic having closed thousands of businesses across North America, the Wall Street Journal reports that, “applications for new U.S. businesses are rising at the fastest rate since 2007.” I believe entrepreneurship is the default position of our species.
My favourite entrepreneurship story has always been the Pet Rock fad from 1975. Dreamt up by advertising executive Gary Dahl, Pet Rocks were sold in custom cardboard carriers, complete with a bed of straw and breathing holes. The fad only lasted for six months, but over that short time span, this savvy businessman sold over one million Pet Rocks for the equivalent of $20 each in today’s dollars.
It’s all about having an eye for opportunities… like the agile agripreneurs at Cronkshaw Fold Farm in Lancashire, England. When Covid-19 put a serious dent in one of their sideline businesses, Goat Yoga, they began renting Zoom Goats for video calls. For just £5 (all currencies and countries accepted), they let you choose one of their billies, nannies or kids to join your online meeting for five minutes. They suggest it’s a great way to “find out if your workmates, friends and family are paying attention.” One wonders what the next niche is that needs filling.
Better wireless on horizon?
And while we’re on the topic of business, there’s possibly good news for Dunvegan residents, and other Internet users across Glengarry. Xplornet Communications has been sold to Stonepeak Infrastructure Partners, a private equity firm based in New York. According to Xplornet, the infusion of new capital will allow them to expand and improve broadband coverage for rural Canadians.
While the elimination of rural Internet dead zones across Glengarry would be very welcome, I sincerely hope this sale doesn’t eliminate the “friendly customer” status we negotiated for the Glengarry Pioneer Museum and Dunvegan Recreation Association when Xplornet first set up in Dunvegan. It was all part of the 2007 Ontario Municipal Rural Broadband Partnership Program. A grant proposal spearheaded by the Dunvegan Recreation Association, with the support of CEONet and North Glengarry Township, was successful and helped Xplornet establish wireless broadband coverage in this area. In return for hundreds of hours of volunteer time spent on project management and community outreach, Xplornet agreed to provide wireless service to the Dunvegan community hall and museum free of charge.
Over the past thirteen years, as the company officials who agreed to this provision have moved on, I have had to defend the arrangement from time to time. But, to their credit, Xplornet has always honoured it in the end. I sincerely hope the new owners will continue to do so. Their donation in kind has an insignificant impact on the company’s bottom line, but makes a huge difference to the museum’s and recreation association’s budgets.
A tactile appeal
I first saw a “Fidget Blanket” a few years ago when Susan Wakefield in Halifax sent Terry one for a friend in Toronto she had trained with at the Royal Vic. If you’re not familiar with them, fidget blankets are eye-catching mini quilts about two or three feet square in size to which have been attached all sorts of engaging objects: buttons, zippers, cords, bells and the like. They can be very comforting for individuals with Alzheimer’s or dementia. One of the common way ways these individuals show anxiety or agitation is in their hands. They begin to fidget, restlessly pulling at clothes or bedding and rubbing their hands together. Fidget blankets have been found to help restore calm by providing tactile stimulation for their restless or “fidgety” hands. So I wasn’t completely in the dark when honourary Duveganite Rosemary Chatterson called for help with her Fidget Blanket project.
When the pandemic began, Rosemary dusted off her sewing machine and started making masks, headbands and scrub caps for the Maxville Manor and Glengarry Memorial Hospital. With over 300 of these under her belt, the Manor asked if she would make them a fidget blanket for “day program” dementia patients stuck at home because of the pandemic. They already had a few commercial ones, but lacked the budget to buy more.
Always one for a challenge, Rosemary did her research and was off and running. She soon found that she loved this new creative outlet and ended up making six for the Manor, and has subsequently supplied them with several more.
To date, she has put together over 100 of these one-of-a-kind pacifiers for hospitals, Alzheimer’s Societies, nursing homes and private individuals across the region. “I make sure that they are washable,” Rosemary told me in an email, “and I secure the fidgeting items so as not to be a health hazard.” Examples of her blankets can be seen on her Facebook page: Hillcrest Stitchery. Recently, Rosemary has been approached to make fidget blankets for children on the Autism spectrum or undergoing emotional, physical or social anxiety disorders. “I’m happy to customize a blanket with certain colours or fidget options for a specific individual,” Rosemary wrote.
Although, a frequent Value Village and Dollarama customer, finding interesting items to incorporate into her blankets is always a challenge. She’s always on the lookout for buttons, zippers, thread, tassels, fobs, old keys, ribbons, trim, cords, old jeans, ‘overall’ fasteners, metal or plastic rings and other appliqués. That’s why she’s thrilled when she gets donations from friends and neighbours. “It’s like Christmas every time a bag or box is dropped off on my doorstep,” she wrote.
Rosemary’s request of me was simple. If you know of any individual or organization that could benefit from one of her blankets, please call her at 525-1336, email: hillcrest.stitchery@gmail.com. And it almost goes without saying that she’d be very appreciative if you have any ‘fidget’ items you’re willing to donate. Just reach out to her at the coordinates above.
By the way, if you’re wondering if these things really work, here’s what one grateful person whose grandmother suffers from dementia told Rosemary in an email: “We’ve tried so many things to interest her, to no avail, and it worried us. It’s been months since she’s used her left hand. Yesterday, I brought her the fidget blanket and she actually pushed her drink to the side to explore it. This morning she is using it. I don’t know how long it will interest her for, but we’re taking anything we can get these days. Thank you so much for everything you’re doing.”
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