BARRY’S BAY – “Mom, can we move here?” Mila Pereira’s children asked her. It was 1986 and Mila was on a family retreat at Madonna House in Combermere. She and her husband had good jobs and a nice home in Brampton so, at first, they dismissed the idea.
The family began coming to Combermere every month and found they were happiest here. They were less and less interested in the hustle and bustle of the city. Mila’s husband wanted a simpler life. The Barry’s Bay region reminded Mila of the farmland in the Philippines where she’d grown up.
However, as Mila worked for the Region of Peel as an accountant and her husband worked for the provincial government they assumed that moving to a small town would mean saying goodbye to working in their fields.
For more pick up a copy of the July 26, 2017 paper.