"Women's Directory"

Dezarae was born in 1984, attended St. Micheal's, was the Prime Minister of the Student Council, has passed each year of school with honours, is on all sorts of sports teams, now attends Ursuline College High School, and plans to attend University some day. 

These two girls present their own set of challenges for their parents. One needs a life separate from her parents so when they pass on it won't shock her to death, and the other one needs a job to earn some money for university so she can LIVE after schooling without a huge student loan. 

It was not until Amanda graduated that her parents discovered that the Government, in its wisdom, had cut off all funding for group homes, ARK industry jobs, and all the other things that gave the special needs folks a life with purpose and dignity, in their own community. 

It was March of 1997 and Debbie had no choice but to pull together her dream of owning a Tea House, Amanda's need for a life separate from her parents, and Dezarae's need for a job to fund the higher education she was going to want. That is when the search for a place to accomplish all these things came "Off The Dream Page" and straight to sleepless nights for Richard! Debbie had a mission, no money, and an incredible amount of determination to make the Dream come true. They then had to take out a loan on their home in Morpeth of 20 years, cash in RRSP's, maxed out the Visa, and extended credit wherever possible because.......Vic and Mary Thibault put their home of 40 years on the market one day and Debbie convinced Richard the next day to put an offer in. The offer was accepted and.........on September 26, 1997 Debbie had a 12 room, 131 year old home to put in motion her dream. She was happy, Richard was tired! 
He was promoted to chief carpenter, plumber, electrician, and maintenance man, along with his day job, Malott Plumbing. Debbie and her girls got the job of restoration, ie: stripping wall paper, taking down plaster full of horse hairs, stripping all the wood you see, including the pocket doors, oak floors, and build in china cabinet, dry walling, mudding, sanding, wallpapering, painting, decorating, and you name it. Carrie Malott was a great help, both with physical support and great advice as to what to do, as Debbie had never even stripped a piece of furniture, let alone a whole house. 

April 1, 1998, the doors were opened to VICTORIA PARK TEA HOUSE.

Just an interesting piece of history............ 
The Thibault's were married in 1948, and guess who catered their wedding? Debbie's grandmother Gertrude Kaczmarek Marszellic Wlasniak. Gertrude died later that year from an infection from an appendix rupture. She left behind Edward age 17, Debbie's mom Barb, age 11, Michelle Wright's (yes the Canadian Country Music Artist!) mom Monica was 6, and the baby, Lucill was 22 months. It gives Debbie quite a thrill to think the grandmother she wasn't able to meet was once in this home "cooking up her specialties!!!!"