By John Cosway.
The March/April issue of the Wayback Times always speaks to renewal after a long, cold and snowy winter. Now that we are again at the brink of spring, it is time to absorb all of the perks of living in Canada, including planning your spring, summer and fall to include the wide range of warm-weather events.
In no particular order, people with a passion for buying and selling are eager to get back to lawn sales, garage sales, estate sales, outdoor country auctions, flea markets, antique and collectables shows and sales, antique stores and antique markets. Vintage car enthusiasts are revving up for another season of classic car shows and cruise nights and fans of Ontario’s 21 drive-in movie theatres anxiously count down to another season of movies under the stars. The months of March through October demand full attention to getting out and about as often as possible and, since 1995, the Wayback Times has been devoted to guiding its readers to a wide variety of events throughout the year.
Plan your year with WT’s popular online calendar: waybacktimes.com/showcalendar
The older you get, the faster the seasons change. One day you are switching to spring and lighter clothing and before you know it you are searching for fall and winter garb. As we swing into another spring, promise yourself a full agenda before the snow flies. The first harbingers of spring for buyers, sellers and collectors are neighbourhood garage sales. Tens of thousands are held from coast to coast each year, with millions of dollars changing hands. Antique stores and markets shuttered for the winter months will be reopening. Attendance at outdoor country auctions will be increasing with warmer weather. And this being Canada’s 150th year, there will be so much more to do in hamlets, villages, towns and cities across Ontario and beyond. We only get so many springs, summers and falls in our lifetimes. They are best enjoyed with memories of doing what we enjoy doing throughout the year.
Meanwhile, thanks for the memories… Here we are 10-plus years into the Wayback Times as columnist/webmaster and it is time for to say goodbye. As my 75th birthday approaches, it is time to tackle a time-consuming project that has been on the backburner for far too long. As my Margaret says of the new project, “it is time to get ‘er done.” Sandy and Peter Neilly were friends of a neighbour in Ajax when we first met. In 2006, Sandy bought the paper from Jay Telfer and asked me to write a column and manage the website – it was perfect timing. Semi-retired after taking a Toronto Sun buyout in 1994 after 19 years at the tabloid, it was time to get away from the TV and a decade of eBay sales and hit the keyboards again.
Sixty or so columns and articles later, it seems like no time at all has passed. One thing for sure, Sandy and Peter are special people who have done so much for the antiques and collectables community in Ontario and beyond. Sandy has doubled the size of the paper and has introduced colour. Being a part of the WT family has enriched our lives, with Margaret taking photographs for my columns and both of us helping Peter ease the workload delivering papers during our travels. Not forgetting Editor Sandy’s knowledge of antiques and collectables and her occasional delicious home-cooked mac and cheese. Always had free reign with Cosway’s Corner column ideas, but on numerous occasions they would not have been written without the expertise of antique dealers, auctioneers, drive-in theatre managers, classic car cruise night organizers and others.
Many thanks to Sandy and Peter, Cosway’s Corner readers, fellow writers and all who contributed to my columns. Hope you enjoyed my words. It has been a pleasure being part of the Wayback Times. Now, it is time for full focus on a project that has been waiting to be tackled for years. Sandy says she doesn’t know what she will do with Page 4, home to Cosway’s Corner since her first issue in the summer of 2006. My suggestion is make it the permanent home for her popular editorial. As reporters and writers used to wrap up their typewritten prose in wayback times… 30