EDITOR’S NOTE: Manitoulin is being transformed with the influx of new residents and business owners who bring with them fresh ideas, experiences and perspectives that are enriching the area. Some individuals and families are still unpacking boxes, having only moved in the past month or two, while others made the move over the last few years and are now comfortably established in their new communities. Here are some of their stories.
by Heather Marshall
Like lots of recent emigrés from Southwestern Ontario who have settled across the Island, the impetus for Matt and Sarah Parker’s move to Manitoulin was the chance to capitalize on a hot housing market to escape urban life. They yearned for a quieter pace in a beautiful place where they could pursue their passions—home renovations and fishing.
As is frequently the case with the growing number of people who left Windsor-Essex County for this region, they also felt a bond to the Island and hoped to end up here some day.
“My family spent summer holidays on the Island every year when I was growing up,” says Sarah. “My grandfather, Sandy McIvor, was born and raised on Manitoulin but moved to Blenheim when he married my grandmother in the late 1940s. We would all come up for our vacation, staying either at Sunset or Batman’s cottages, to visit family members in Little Current and to fish. I always loved being here.”
Sarah’s childhood was spent in Kingsville, a farming area outside Windsor. She married shortly after high school and started her family, raising two daughters, Haleigh and Sydnee. The marriage didn’t last and, roughly 15 years ago, Sarah went back to school at Fanshawe College in London to pursue a career in interior decorating and design.
“My Dad renovated every house we lived in when I was young and as a teenager also built our family home. He taught me everything I know, so design is in my blood. I repeated the pattern, renovating every house I ever owned as well!”
Sarah initially worked from home, but the need to get out to meet people eventually saw her hired as a designer for a kitchen and bath business in Windsor. It was while working there that she met Matt, a contractor employed by the same firm. “Sparks flew!” laughs Sarah. “I did project designing in the office and Matt was doing the hands-on renovation work. We clicked right away and haven’t been apart in the four years since.”
Matt’s childhood had also been spent in rural parts of Essex County, growing up in Amherstburg and never venturing far from the area. He took a more circuitous path to home renovations than Sarah, having started out as a tool ‘n dye maker before switching to auto mechanics and, about 20 years ago, home renovations—including his own homes. He bought numerous houses in need of tender loving care, then did the necessary repairs and improvements before selling them at a profit and moving on. Over the four years he and Sarah have been together, they changed houses in Windsor-Essex County four times.
In 2019 they launched their own kitchen and bath renovation business in the Kingsville/Leamington area, doing everything from demolition to design and construction, at what proved to be an extraordinary time to start a new company. They were on the leading edge of the massive home renovation boom resulting from the pandemic and could hardly keep up with the demand for their services.
That same year they solidified their relationship and grew their family when Sarah and Matt were married at Green Bay Lodge on Lake Manitou in September. Together, the couple has seven children in their blended family, most of them adults living and working in Southwestern Ontario.
Matt had never previously been to Manitoulin before meeting and marrying Sarah. However, it was on his bucket list since many friends who routinely spend summers on the Island had extolled its many virtues, including great fishing. Once here, he was smitten and the moving bug had firmly bitten.
“Immediately following our wedding, we decided we had to find a way to live here,” Matt says. “We waited for our daughter Sydnee, Sarah’s youngest, to finish high school last June and then had to sell our house. But once we made the decision, we couldn’t wait to get up here.”
The couple started house hunting on Manitoulin in the summer of 2022 and narrowed the search to their new home in Sunsite Estates. The Windsor housing market was starting to cool as the summer wore on and they still had renovation work to complete on their house there, but they managed to pull it off and got it on the market on time. They successfully sold in the city and took possession of their new home in Manitowaning in late September.
The duo had their first taste of their neighbour’s hospitality within the first day of arriving when they asked their real estate agent, Jennifer Hooper, for help in locating a forklift to unload a truck full of furniture. Sarah’s brother, a trucker, had provided the vehicle and they had rented a forklift in Windsor but, knowing no one local to unload, they needed help at this end. Jennifer reached out to Gordon and Charlene Gorman who immediately came to the rescue, providing a forklift and helping hands to get them settled. “What a way to start our life here,” they say. “We were so appreciative of their help and kindness.”
Matt and Sarah had barely finished unpacking before starting to advertise their business on Manitoulin called Reveal Kitchen and Bath. They’ve already picked up multiple renovation projects while their daughter, Sydnee, has found work at the Guardian Pharmacy in Manitowaning, so things are falling into place beautifully for the family.
“It’s everything we expected and more. It’s quiet, relaxed, everyone’s friendly, it’s just wonderful,” enthuses Sarah. “It’s just about perfect,” adds Matt, “I confess to missing some of our favourite restaurants and we’ve had to adjust to limited store hours, but we are learning to appreciate the slower pace of life. We honestly couldn’t be happier.”
Heather Marshall and her husband worked as journalists and consultants in the National Capital Region for more decades than they care to admit before making their Sandfield cottage their permanent home. A lifelong learner, Heather loves discovering new things and people and relishes the opportunity to write about newcomers to the Manitoulin. If you would like to share your story or know of recent arrivals we should meet, send a message to HAMarshall@proton.me
