OTTAWA — For Susan Kunstadt, the guiding principle for a healthy body and mind is simple: keep moving. After 47 years

of teaching with the City of Ottawa, that philosophy has shaped her career and the community built through

her fitness and pottery classes.

Susan’s teaching journey began in 1979 in Montreal. While attending a fitness class at the Pointe-Claire

Aquatic Centre, a snowstorm prevented the instructor from arriving. As the group waited, her friend Marianna

turned to her and said, “You get up and you teach the class.” That unexpected moment sparked a lifelong

career.

Sport has always been part of Susan’s family. Her husband, Peter, was a Czechoslovakian and Canadian

ski champion, and their children, Eric and Ronnie, became accomplished alpine skiers, among many other

sports. That shared passion eventually led to the creation of Kunstadt Sports, built from a home-based racquet

stringing and ski tuning operation.

Susan continues to lead by example. Last year, she returned to teaching just two weeks after a total knee

replacement.

“I don’t preach much about health, but I think I’m a good example that I’m almost 80,” Susan says. “I was an

athlete my whole life. I swam competitively, I skied, and did track and field. I jumped like a goat!”

Many participants have stayed with her for decades, following her from fitness classes into pottery at the

Nepean Visual Arts Centre. “I slowed down now with fitness because my theory was that I had an Olympic

team in front of me,” Susan says. “Now, we maintain what we have, and the pottery is a good balance.”

What brings many participants back isn’t just the activity; it’s the sense of community they build over time.

Classes become welcoming spaces where people get to know each other on a personal level, sharing milestones,

challenges, and routines.

After nearly five decades, Susan Kunstadt’s impact is measured not just in the classes she’s taught, but in

the people and relationships that have grown alongside her. “I hope to stay for another decade,” Susan says.

June 2026

OTTAWA — For many Canadians, swimming is a common and leisurely activity learned from early childhood. However, for women and girls in Afghanistan, access to education and recreational activities, including swimming, has historically been limited. Zahra Jafari, who fled Afghanistan in 2017, knows this reality all too well. After tirelessly fighting for women’s rights, she was forced to leave her home country to protect her family. Since arriving in Canada, Zahra and her daughters have found hope and healing through swimming lessons at Sawmill Creek Community Centre and Pool in Gloucester.

Zahra’s activism came at a great personal cost. Pregnant with her youngest daughter, Elisa, she had to leave her eldest daughter, Mahsa, behind temporarily for three years to escape the Taliban’s oppressive rule. She recalls this as one of the most difficult periods of her life.

Masha’s journey to overcome her uncertainties and build confidence with staff and other children was gradual but transformative. “When I started swimming, I was really nervous because they were strangers to me," recounted Mahsa. “But we played games and stuff, so I got more comfortable with them.” Zahra emphasizes the positive impact swimming had on Mahsa’s self-confidence and social skills, crediting the supportive environment created by the staff and other children. “She was nervous, it was very hard for her. But when she started, the help of the staff, coaches, and the good management, she just changed – even her behaviour.”

While swimming might seem like just another activity, it means much more to Mahsa. It represents a choice to do what you love without barriers. “I thought for me, it would be impossible to swim,” says Mahsa. “When I came to Canada, my wish came true and I’m happy for that. Every time I go in the water, I feel better. It makes me happy.”

For Zahra, swimming is more than just a life skill; it’s about breaking down barriers. “It seems like a small hope,” Zahra says. “But for the girls from Afghanistan, with a situation like Mahsa, it is not a small hope. It is a big dream."

April 2025

OTTAWA — The steady whine of a table saw fills Luc Renaud’s workshop as fine sawdust drifts across the floor. In the bright space, Luc adjusts his saw and continues work on yet another project. It’s a routine he’s followed for decades, though he never imagined something built here would one day belong in the Railway Society of Newfoundland Museum in Corner Brook, Newfoundland.

Luc’s fascination with building began early. When he was eight years old, his parents gave him a toy Avro Arrow, the Canadian-built aircraft that left a lasting impression. Years later, he would build detailed wooden models of the aircraft that first captured his imagination. But it wasn’t one of those planes that eventually drew attention. Instead, it was a passenger train he built for the Sharbot Lake Country Inn & The Crossing Pub.

As a self-taught wood craftsman and history buff, Luc has spent much of his life building models inspired by the past. His workshop has produced a wide range of models, including planes, tanks, submarines, and ships, all requiring patience and precision. He often rebuilds sections to ensure historical accuracy.

“When I build these models, it can take years or it can take months,” Luc said.

While wood is his main medium, he also works with plastics, resins, and metal. When possible, he works from original blueprints. Otherwise, research and reference photos guide the process.

“It took me years to get to where I am now, and I still have a lot to learn,” he said. “The harder the project, the better I get with my skills.”

That mindset led to the pinnacle of his hobby: a scaled-down model of the “Newfie Bullet.” The train operated in Newfoundland from the late 19th century until 1969. “This train was something I always wanted to do,” Luc said. That opportunity came through family.

In 2009, Luc’s daughter-in-law Jessie White and her parents, Frank and Sandra White, purchased a motel and restaurant in Sharbot Lake, Ontario, naming the renovated pub The Crossing. The name honoured Stephenville and Stephenville Crossing, Newfoundland, where Frank and Sandra grew up together. Those communities were once connected by the railway served by the Newfie Bullet. Luc decided to build a model of the train to reflect that shared history.

The model was displayed at the restaurant for years and became a local talking point. In 2023, as the business was sold and Frank and Sandra prepared for retirement, they faced a difficult decision about its future.

Luc never believed his work belonged in a museum. He often compared his models to professionally built replicas, convinced his own skills didn’t measure up. His sons saw it differently. Over time, Luc had completed increasingly complex pieces, including a detailed replica of HMCS Lanark to honour his sons’ service in the Royal Canadian Sea Cadet Corps, which is displayed at their unit in Carleton Place, Ontario. Then came the surprise. Frank and Sandra contacted the Railway Society of Newfoundland Museum in Corner Brook, where the original Newfie Bullet is displayed. The museum wanted Luc’s model for its collection, and Frank and Sandra had already arranged for it to be delivered.

When Luc learned what they had done, he was stunned. “They put the train on a mattress in their camper, secured it, and travelled 3,200 kilometres,” he said. “The train ended up in Corner Brook with the original Newfie Bullet.”

What began as a personal project now sits alongside the real train that inspired it. “I’m happy that other people will be able to enjoy seeing this model,” Luc said. “I never thought that one of my projects would end up in a museum.”

Luc Renaud’s model is now on permanent display at the Railway Society of Newfoundland Museum on Riverside Drive in Corner Brook.

September 2023

LANARK  — Paul’s Maple Products prides itself on being one of the longest-running maple producers in Ontario, with over 130 years of production history. As settlers of Dalhousie (Lanark) in the late 1820s, maple syrup production began as a necessity for the Pauls, creating hard maple sugar bricks as natural year-round sweeteners for cooking and baking before expanding into the public market in 1890.

In the 1970s, Brien and Marion Paul took maple syrup production to a whole new level, being among the first in Ontario to install a reverse osmosis system and some of the first producers to use the pipeline system you see in sugar bushes all over Ontario today. The sugar bush expanded from 800 taps on buckets to a couple of thousand taps with lines. Brien and Marion were true innovators of their time and pillars of the maple community, which earned them a spot in the International Maple Syrup Hall of Fame in Vermont.

Their sons, Darrell and Wayne, became invaluable assets in keeping such an operation running and made some innovative changes of their own to improve sap production. The tradition continued when Darrell’s son, Nathan Paul, and his daughter-in-law, Gabrielle White, took over the business in 2017. After learning the many hard lessons of the four previous generations, it has become Nathan and Gabrielle’s honour to continue the family legacy. With a little luck and countless hours of help from his friends and family, the business has been able to expand beyond the borders of Lanark County.

Nathan and Gabrielle are doing their best to fill the shoes of their predecessors and are grateful to share the same passion for maple syrup production that has been passed down through his family for generations. Moving into the modern age, they are adding their own creative ideas while keeping true to the traditions they’ve been taught.

Nathan’s grandmother, Marion, always believed that there was something special in the soil and limestone that their trees grow on that gives their syrup an exceptional maple flavour. Many years of awards from syrup competitions may add some truth to that statement, but all their customers would agree that after tasting their syrup, it has become the benchmark against which they compare all others.

Nathan and Gabrielle are very proud of their products and only send out the very best to their customers, both new and ongoing. Without their dedicated clientele, they could not do what they love most: making beautiful, sticky, and sweet maple syrup. Nathan and Gabrielle hope that they can carry on the Paul family's lifelong work and keep the production going for years to come.

March 2017

SHARBOT LAKE — With a history spanning over 100 years, The Sharbot Lake Country Inn & The Crossing Pub stands as a landmark in Sharbot Lake, Ontario. Often referred to as the “Doctor’s House” by locals, the building was originally constructed in 1906 as a medical center by Noel Coutlee, a recent graduate from Queen's University as a Doctor of Medicine and Master surgeon. With the recent population boom from the Kingston and Pembroke railroad in the late 1800s, Doctor Coutlee envisioned Sharbot Lake as the perfect location to establish his first medical center, capable of accommodating a few beds for short stays.

Unfortunately, after the building's completion in 1906, Dr. Coutlee suffered an untimely death, and his plans never materialized. He left the building to Danny and Diana Buchanan, his manager and housekeeper, who converted it into a bed and breakfast and ran it under the name “The Hillcrest Inn.”

Following Mr. Buchanan’s death in 1952, Mrs. Buchanan sold the Inn to a gentleman from Perth, Ontario, who continued to operate the business as is. Over the years, the building underwent several name changes and new ownerships. However, even today, despite all the alterations, renovations, and additions, the original structure remains largely unchanged from its initial construction.

Now known as the Sharbot Lake Country Inn & The Crossing Pub, current owners Frank and Sandra White are dedicated to preserving its history. The restaurant's name, The Crossing, pays homage to Sharbot Lake’s history as a railroad town and acknowledges the towns of Stephenville and Stephenville Crossing in Newfoundland, where Frank and Sandra White were born and raised. As they look toward retirement, their aspiration is to pass on the business to someone who will carry forward the torch of preserving the building's historical roots.

January 2015

CARLETON PLACE — Six years after Ottawa woodworker Luc Renaud made the first cut on his replica of HMCS Lanark, a River-class frigate that served in the Royal Canadian Navy during the Second World War, he stopped counting the individual pieces somewhere around 2,500 and simply kept building.

“It was a ridiculous number,” he said. “I eventually stopped counting.”

For Luc, the project was never just about the woodwork. The Ottawa resident and self-taught craftsman has spent much of his life producing wooden models of all kinds, including planes, tanks, submarines, and ships, each requiring patience and precision. An estimated 789 hours went into the HMCS Lanark alone, making it the largest and most time-consuming project of his career.

His twin sons, Mathieu and Philippe, both came of age through Royal Canadian Sea Cadet Corps (RCSCC) 211 Lanark in Carleton Place, Ontario. Mathieu served four years, reaching the rank of Petty Officer 1st Class, while Philippe served seven years, rising to Chief Petty Officer 1st Class. Military service was not new in the Renaud family. Luc’s uncle, Roland, flew as an air gunner with the Royal Canadian Air Force during the Second World War, while his father, Marcel, served in the Merchant Navy in the years that followed.

“To say thank you, I decided to build a replica of their ship,” Luc said.

The corps had followed the project from the beginning and was pleased to receive the finished piece. It was unveiled to the public at the corps’ annual ceremonial parade on Sunday, June 8, 2014, where Luc was honoured with an official commendation.

Commanding Officer Lieutenant (N) Daniel Denief described the model as a connection to the past, giving cadets a tangible sense of their history.

“They can look at it and say, ‘Hey, this is where we came from,’” he said. “The quality of workmanship and the time put into it is phenomenal.”Every sea cadet corps in Canada is named after a ship, and that heritage, Lt. (N) Denief noted, is something the model now helps bring to life for a new generation.

As for Luc, a well-earned rest is next on his agenda. Anyone who knows his workshop, however, doubts it will stay quiet for long.

June 2014