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9 | W aterloo C hronicle | T hursday,N ovem ber 15,2018 w aterloochronicle.ca The nook of stately fam- ily homes first developed in Waterloo in the early 1960s still holds its prestige to- day. Leaves are falling on Waterloo properties across the city, but perhaps none more so than on the large wooded mature lots in Beechwood Park. The mix of Georgian, Colonial, sprawling bungalows and mid-century modern homes reflect a time when the demand for spacious principal living areas were paired alongside the desire for modern family living. Move-up buyers and Wa- terloo residents looking for opportunities to stay local and renovate well built homes on exceptional lots continue to fuel the popu- larity of this well-estab- lished community. The Beechwood neigh- bourhoods are sometimes grouped together incor- rectly, but for identifica- tion purposes, I am refer- ring to the homes nestled between Westmount Road (adjacent to the University of Waterloo) and Erb Street. Natural boundaries also exist such as Clair Creek Park and greenbelts that serve as walking trails extending into the Beech- wood North neighbour- hood. Initially concepted by Abram Wiebe of Major Holding & Developments Limited, the idea was to de- velop a strong community feel focusing on new con- cepts, including home as- sociations. By creating smaller neighbourhoods without through traffic corridors, streets were es- sentially designed to ser- vice residents exclusively. The first few homes were completed in the late '50s and early '60s, with some properties on Longfellow Drive, Browning Place and Tennyson Place compris- ing of lots over half an acre in size. Dorothy Wiebe, head of Vintage Homes, conceptualized and con- structed several of the pre- mière builds in the neigh- bourhood. Worth noting is Mrs. Wiebe's impressive portfolio of several resi- dential builds across the west side of Waterloo. Although long gone now, the neighbourhood in its primary days included the Wiebe-owned Beech- wood Riding Academy with bridle trails that wound through the devel- opment. The farm itself was situated on the grav- eled road just to the west side of Columbia Lake. Sev- eral streets within the nearby Beechwood com- munities have connections to horseback riding and tack (Pommel Gate, Bridle Path Court, etc.). 2018 happens to mark an exciting year for the Beech- wood Park Neighbourhood Association as it celebrates 50 years of community spirit. In 1968 the recre- ation centre on Shake- speare Drive opened. Since the late '80s, the opportuni- ty to purchase an associate membership has been available to the public on limited availability. This practice of associate mem- berships has recently be- come more common in the Beechwood neighbour- hoods due to covenants re- quiring mandatory affilia- tion for residents coming to maturity and expiration in some areas. Associate members enjoy the value of pool and tennis access, while contributing finan- cially to the maintenance and updating of services. As part of the celebrations, Weibe is hoping to have a history book about Beech- wood Park completed by spring/early summer 2019. The next time you are considering a Sunday drive or stroll around town, a visit to the Beechwood Park is well worth the ar- chitectural eye candy, and a perfect way to enjoy the late fall weather in one of Waterloo's gem filled neighbourhoods. Special thanks to Sheila Wiebe for your valuable in- sight for this column. Paul Stickney is a life- long resident of Waterloo and local Realtor with experience in residential home and condo resales. He can be reached at paul@kwhouseand- home.com. A NEIGHBOURHOOD PROFILE: BEECHWOOD PARK OPINION THE NOOK OF STATELY FAMILY HOMES FIRST DEVELOPED IN WATERLOO IN THE EARLY 1960S STILL HOLDS ITS PRESTIGE TODAY, WRITES PAUL STICKNEY PAUL STICKNEY Column As child of the '70s, I grew up watching the campy Canadian children's show The Hilarious House of Frightenstein. Those who saw it will never forget it; those who didn't see it typically haven't heard of it. It truly has "cult" status -- a be- loved memory of the lucky ones who grew up at the right time, in the right place, to experience its magic. So it was with much nos- talgia and excitement that I met Mitch Markowitz, writer and producer of The Hilarious House of Fright- enstein at the Tri-City Su- per Con at Bingemans last month. I was intrigued to hear a new production company called Headspinner recent- ly acquired the rights to create a live-action reboot of The Hilarious House of Frightenstein, based on offbeat characters from the Frightenstein cast of 1971. Markowitz, the only sur- viving member of the core original cast, told me that Headspinner is run by a husband-and-wife duo with a long history of pro- ducing children's televi- sion. Headspinner Produc- tions is also working on an animated series and a 50th anniversary special to air in 2021. "The animated version would be for a younger de- mographic, let's say for three- to six-year-olds, and interestingly enough they're calling that one The Happy House of Frighten- stein instead of The Hilari- ous House of Frighten- stein," he said. There's also plans for a new Hilarious House of Frightenstein audio dra- ma, Markowitz told me. "I did a license deal with a young man I met at a comic con in Kingston who pro- duces audio dramas like the old radio shows we grew up listening to," he said. "He does terrific work and he sent me all the writ- ing for the Frightenstein audio drama and it was side-splitting, every line is another gag." Then there's the new Hi- larious House of Frighten- stein album containing classic audio segments from the original show fea- turing The Count, Igor, Dr. Pet Vet, Grizelda, The Wolf- man, Super Hippy and Vin- cent Price. I was thrilled when Mar- kowitz offered to sign the cover of The Hilarious House of Frightenstein al- bum I purchased, which in- cludes a beautiful ten-page booklet with never-before- seen photographs. "The cameraman took 650 pictures and they were put away, they had never been seen by human eyes," he said. "A thousand al- bums were pressed and they were basically gone within the first week and a half through online sales, they never even had to be in a retail store as fans from all across Canada and the U.S. gobbled them up." Markowitz added: "And the cool thing is, the col- oured vinyl is all co-ordi- nated to the characters on the various covers, they're psychedelic and just fan- tastic." Here's hoping a whole new audience will discover the brilliance of Frighten- stein through the new re- boot, animated series, 50th anniversary special, audio drama, and vinyl records. Perhaps the "cult" clas- sic will get its much-de- served moment in the mainstream sun after all. Marshall Ward is a freelance writer and artist. Email is welcome at mar- shall_ward@hotmail.com. RETURN TO FRIGHTENSTEIN CULT CLASSIC MAKES A COMEBACK, WRITES MARSHALL WARD MARSHALL WARD Column LETTERS AND OPINIONS TRACKING THE GOVERNMENT DEFICIT SHOULD BE VERY SIMPLE Books show deficit should be much low- er than Tories' $15B figure - Oct. 31 When I read news reports about Onta- rio's budget, I see there is much disagree- ment as to which accounting system should be used. I think the best description of a budget I have heard is: "When your out- go exceeds your input, your upkeep will be your downfall." I challenge all govern- ments (federal, provincial and local) to re- port on their budgets using this simple def- inition as their guide. Give the public these six figures and we will take it from there. For outgo, provide three figures: 1. to pro- vide the various programs; 2. to service the debt; and 3. other. For input, provide three figures: 1. taxes; 2. income from assets; and 3. other. If the government expects to re- ceive it, include it; if they don't, ignore it. If the government expects to spend it, in- clude it; if they don't, ignore it. Don't in- clude assets and liabilities; only the net in- come expected from assets and the antici- pated net expenses created from liabilities should go into the budget. The bottom line is that if the outgo is larger than the input then you have a deficit budget. The actual line-by-line budget that will be considered by governments for approval needs to add up to these six figures or something is wrong. Simple. JIM ARMITAGE WATERLOO SIGN UP FOR OUR WEEKLY NEWSLETTER AT WATERLOOCHRONICLE.CA We dig deeper on the issues that matter to you. VISIT WATERLOOCHRONICLE.CA TO READ CURRENT AND PAST INVESTIGATIONS