The Inverness Oran

Joanne Schmidt and her husband, Ron, have been loving their family business and their loyal customers for over 32 years.

-by April MacDonald

Happiness is like jam, you can’t spread even a little without getting some on yourself.

When most Valentine’s Day romances are measured in roses and chocolates, a local family’s success story is celebrating a different kind of devotion.

This February, Galloping Cows, a 32-year-old family jam and jelly business is marking a sweet 16 milestone of being partners with and being distributed by Sobeys Atlantic.

First things first: What’s the meaning behind the name Galloping Cows?

Ron and Joanne’s dairy farm dreams hit a snag just two days before their wedding when Joanne’s father decided he was too young to retire. Full-time retirement and golfing weren’t his cup of tea. Despite cows being notoriously bad at galloping (it messes with their milk mojo), the idea of happy heifers skipping around in the spring just tickled Joanne. Picture this: a trailer-turned-market on Route 19 in Port Hood, with no name just days away from opening. Then it hit her: “Galloping Cows!” The inspiration? A university project where Joanne snapped a picture of a joyous bovine mid-gallop. And voilà, the fun-filled name was born!

What began as a local kitchen dream has blossomed into a long love story with East Coast “foodies” made possible by a retailer that took a chance on a local entrepreneur.

“As the jars hit the shelves on Valentine’s Day, our family is sending a heart-felt thank you to the grocer that gave them a home for distribution and to our many loyal customers who have supported us all these years and have helped to keep the flame alive for 5,800 days,” said Joanne Schmidt in an interview on Tuesday morning.

You can discover Galloping Cows Fine Foods in local gift shops, the Mabou Fresh Mart and the Inverness Co-op, to name a few. Schmidt explains that their products are “where culinary excellence meets sustainability.”

“Our pepper jellies, fruit spreads, chutneys, and salsa are perfect for cheese and charcuterie boards. We’ve partnered with local farmers for nearly three decades to ensure freshness in every jar. Our products are inspired by the fruits and vegetables grown in fields and surrounded by untouched forests swept by ocean breezes,” she added.

Their products are sustainable, vegan, gluten-free, no dyes, MSG, preservatives, or synthetic sugars.
“We uphold quality and authenticity from our market garden roots to gifting our pepper jellies and brandy cranberry marmalade at the Oscars, Golden Globes, and TIFF,” she closed.

Spread the love this Valentine’s Day!

Ian Stewart has been doing hypnosis for almost 25 years and has put on thousands of shows. He brings his talents to Strathspey Performing Arts Centre in Mabou on February 20^th.

-by Beverley Phillips

Hypnotist Ian Stewart is bringing his popular comedy hypnosis show back to Mabou.

On Friday, February 20^th, the North River resident will be performing at Strathspey Performing Arts Centre at 7:00 p.m.

He is no stranger to the area and has performed there a number of times over the years, for both public and school events.

In his high energy show, Stewart invites audience members on stage to be guided into a state of focused concentration. From there, he unleashes their inner rock star, or perhaps super hero, making them the stars of the show.

“I love bringing this show to communities like Mabou – it’s always a blast seeing locals let loose and have the time of their lives,” says Ian. “Expect non-stop laughs, incredible moments, and memories that last long after the lights come up!”

While the show is only going to highlight his hypnosis talents, Stewart is a renowned juggler and magician. He has appeared on some of the world’s biggest stages and on some of the biggest shows, including America’s Got Talent, The Late Show with David Letterman, The Tonight Show with Jay Leno, and Penn and Teller: Fool Us. He didn’t fool the expert magicians, but he did entertain them.

Stewart has also held over 20 Guinness World Records including, most magic tricks performed in one minute (52), most consecutive under leg chainsaw juggling catches (20) and greatest distance travelled while juggling three chainsaws (50.97m).

Tickets for this evening of family-friendly entertainment (recommended for ages 12 and over) are available now through the Strathspey box office (11156 Highway 19, Mabou) or online at www.strathspeyplace.com.

For more information about Ian Stewart, visit www.ianstewart.info or www.worldrecordmagician.com.

Two grade 12s, the Huskies’ Owen Ross tries to avoid the outstretched hand of the Broncos’ Seth Yonder during Saturday’s championship game of the 21st Annual Brendan MacLennan Memorial basketball tournament.

-by Bill Dunphy

To win a war of attrition, you need lots of troops in reserve.

The Cape Breton Highlands Huskies and Baddeck Broncos went at each other hard from the opening tip-off in the 21st Annual Brendan MacLennan Memorial basketball tournament championship game on Saturday.

Seven minutes into the first 10-minute quarter and both teams had collected enough fouls to shoot free throws for bonus on non-shooting fouls.

But by the end, with four players having fouled out, the Broncos prevailed with a 78-69 victory. The game was a nail-biter with Baddeck leading 22-21, 42-30 and 55-53 by quarters.

However, tournament MVP Adam Smith took control of the fourth quarter, scoring 12 of his 30 points to put some distance between the never-say-die Huskies.

Smith, who was struggling with a lower-body injury, said they didn’t let the two-point difference going into the final quarter change their game.

“I trust my teammates to work through any adversity, and whatever the outcome, to play at the best standard,” he said. “We have great chemistry and we’ll keep working hard at regionals.”

Broncos coach Jeff Garland said it was great to be back at The Brendan.

“We have built a good rivalry with CBHA over the years. They won our tournament this year and now we won theirs.”

Garland said, with regionals approaching, that he’s encouraged by how his team is playing. “The boys have shown their resilience when playing in tough moments. This is an important part of the season and they played really well this weekend despite having just one practice in the last two weeks.”

Along with Smith, three other Broncos hit double-digits in the game, including: Ken Tria and Gray Langley, 13 each; and Alex MacLeod, 10. Also scoring: Finlay Mullins, 6; Zach MacRae, Dylan MacDonald, and Colton MacKenzie, 2 each.

The Huskies were led by Ezra MacNeil with a 24-point game. Owen Ross and Caleb Timmons also had a big game with 19 and 13 points respectively.

Also scoring: Jace Bishop, 6; Lucas Ross, 4; Duncan Carmichael, 2; Carl Sieh, 1.

The Huskies made it to the championship by winning a thriller on Friday over the Inverness Rebels.

Both teams were 1-1 in round-robin play and the game unfolded like it was a championship game.

The Huskies held 8-5, 16-14 and 30-27 leads and with 24 seconds left in the game the score was tied 41-41.

Lucas Ross went one-for-two at the foul line and a field goal by Ezra MacNeil gave the lead back to the Huskies with 8.8 seconds left, ending the game with a 44-41 win.

Highlighting the play for the Rebels was Aiden Benner’ three three-pointers in the fourth quarter that gave Inverness a 41-36 lead. Benner shot six from downtown in total.

In Saturday’s consolation game, the winless Cabot Trail Blazers rallied for a 52-43 win over Inverness.

Four players from Cabot shot double-digits, including: Leelyn Connors, 14; Ethan Burton, 13; Grayson Barron, 12; and Aksel Larson, 10.

Hector MacEachern led the Rebels with a 29-point game. Also scoring: Alistair MacLeod, 6; Angus MacKay, 4; Aiden Benner, 3; Dustin Condon, 1.

The following are the scores from the round-robin:

Baddeck 52 (Adam Smith, 24; Alex MacLeod, 10; Ken Tria and Gray Langley, 6 each; Blaze MacKenzie, Dylan MacDonald, and Colton MacKenzie, 2 each); CBHA 44 (Ezra MacNeil, 15; Owen Ross, 6; Duncan Carmichael, Caleb Timmons, and Lucas Ross, 3 each; Jace Bishop, Kizta Brioso, Reese Timmons, Ned Brown, and Avery Evers, 2 each; Carl Sieh, 1).

Baddeck 50 (MacLeod, 15; Smith, 14; Langley, 11; Finlay Mullins, 4; Tria, Zach MacRae, and Seth Yonder, 2 each); Inverness 40 (Dustin Condon, 10; Aiden Benner, 9; Tyler Cormier, 8; Hector MacEachern, 7; Rory White, 3; Angus MacKay, 2; Thomas Burke, 1).

CBHA 66 (Owen Ross, 25; MacNeil, 13; Carmichael and Caleb Timmons, 9 each; Brown, 4; Lucas Ross, 3; Reese Timmons, 2; Sieh, 1); Cabot 52 (Grayson Barron, 31; Ethan Burton, 9; Leelyn Connors, 7; Askel Larson, 3; Brendon Taylor, 2).

Inverness 58 (MacEachern, 16; Burke, 11; Cormier and Alistair MacLeod, 6 each; Benner, 5; Alex MacGillivray and Eli Forance, 4 each; MacKay, 3; Condon, 2; White, 1); Cabot 43 (Larson, 15; Taylor, 9; Burton, 7; Connors, 6; Barron, 4; Declan Donovan, 2).

CBHA 44 (Caleb Timmons, 12; MacNeil and Owen Ross, 10 each; Carmichael and Lucas Ross, 6 each); Inverness 41 (Benner, 18; MacEachern, 7; Condon and MacKay, 6 each; White, 3; MacLeod, 1).

Baddeck 63 (Smith, 26; Langley, 17; Mullins, 7; Tria, 6; MacLeod, 5; MacDonald, 2); Cabot 50 (Barron, 23; Connors, 9; Larson, 7; Zach Boutilier, 4; Burton, 3; Donovan and Taylor, 2 each).