Jillian Underwood
Growing up in Wingham for me consisted of countless hours, ripping up and down the Burton’s outdoor ice rink; playing in my friends’ fort while spying on the boys across the street; and jumping on the Leitch’s trampoline until we couldn’t jump anymore. I even remember the time to get home alarm from the twins’ mother who would whistle a piercing sound, to call everyone in for the night. But most of all, my fondest memories were hopping on our bikes and heading down to Vic’s corner store, where we would graciously count out 100 penny candies and proudly pay with the dollar we had bugged our parents for. It’s only in a small town where a store has such an impact of creating long lasting memories. I’m sad to admit these childhood days are gone. However, many forever friendships and memories have been made from growing up in this small town.
My name is Jillian Underwood. I was born and raised in Wingham and I am happy to say I love living in Wingham and I’m honoured to call it home. Over the years, I have lived in Barrie, London and Kitchener. But nothing is as warming as being able to come home to Wingham, to enjoy the close knit community that we hold dear. Wingham doesn’t have everything you would find in a city but what we do have is a fantastic downtown core. Local merchants work hard to help us with our buying purchases, and they take pride in servicing our community while at the same supporting their families. Our retail sector may not be open 24/7 but we do become accustomed to their business hours. The spirit here is very uplifting. In the spring, you get to see all the unique storefronts decorated to cheer on the local hockey teams and at Christmas each business festively decorates for the holidays. It’s nice to see the character of the town that we embellish as a whole. Wingham offers a variety of niche businesses and industries that employs members of our community, which in return has helped us to remain strong and keep growing. I might include I’m impressed to see how positively Maitland River Elementary School has formed Wingham into a hub for neighbouring communities. Recently I became a real estate agent and I look forward to helping my friends and their expanding families build lasting memories of their own here. I hope they love it here as much as I do and realize it truly is a great place to call home!