Our guest this week is Sharon Stevens. Sharon was born in Buffalo New York. Her first jobs were teaching high school English. But one day in 1968 she discovered Niagara on the Lake and realized that Canada was where she belonged. She entered a new career when she and a friend opened a restaurant across from the original Shaw Festival Theatre which was very successful. However problems arose, so she moved to Toronto. There she studied business administration at Ryerson (Toronto Metropolitan University) and found time to hitch-hike with her sister across Canada. After graduating she was hired by General Foods to manage one of their Crock and Block restaurants. But later the chain was purchased by the Keg company and Sharon left to set up yet another independent business.

She and her partner Rene bought a house in Trenton living there for 30 years.  They loved to travel, visiting Portugal, all the eastern provinces of Canada and the Magdelene Islands among other places. After Rene died in 2014, Sharon sold the house and moved to Cobourg where she had friends.  She soon settled in, participating in classes on memoir writing and joining and performing with local choirs. Music has always been an important part of her life.