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Why We Chose Forest
Sometimes the best ideas happen when you're not looking for them.
In late June, Lisa and I took a drive to Thedford to pick up a beautiful stained glass piece. On that afternoon, somewhere between conversations and country roads, we found ourselves talking about the communities we were driving through.
We realized something. While some cities seem to have a hearing clinic on every corner, the Lambton Shores area has very few options. Many people from Forest, Thedford, Arkona, and the surrounding communities travel to Strathroy or Sarnia to access hearing care.
We kept asking ourselves one question:
Why shouldn't hearing care be closer to home?
When we started Caradoc Hearing, we never had plans to expand beyond our Strathroy clinic. We were happy serving one community and building relationships with our patients there.
We have noticed, over time, that many of our patients were making the drive from Forest, Arkona, Thedford, and nearby communities. They were choosing to travel because they trusted the care they received.
As we drove through Lambton Shores that afternoon, the idea just made sense.
Instead of asking our patients to keep coming to us, why not bring hearing care to them?
Why Forest?
For me, the answer is also deeply personal.
This fall, as we open our hearing clinic in Forest, Ontario, we're doing more than opening the doors to a new business; we're returning to the community that has been part of my family's story for more than 170 years.
I was raised in nearby Wyoming and still call it home, where I live with my husband and our two sons, Trenton (7) and Tripp (4). Forest has always held a special place in my heart. Some of my favourite memories were playing hockey, spending time on the golf course, and enjoying family suppers at Skeeters. Those same traditions continue today with our own family, and this year we're excited that our youngest, Tripp, will be starting Timbit hockey with Lambton Shores.
But my connection to Forest goes back much further than that.
My grandmother is one of 13 children born to George Carlton Harper and Ethel Odelia Haskell of Chalk Line, Warwick Township.
Fay Dorotha Harper was born and raised on the Harper family farm just outside Forest. The Harper family's roots in Warwick Township stretch back to the 1850s, when William and Elizabeth Harper immigrated from Ireland and settled in the area. Generations of Harpers farmed the land, raised families, attended local schools, and became part of the fabric of this community.
Fay married Robert Steadman (1930-1987) and raised her family outside of Wyoming. She married Ron Canton (1927-2018) in 1999.
Opening a clinic in Forest isn't simply expanding our business.
It's an opportunity to honour my family's history while giving back to a community that has meant so much to generations of my family.
It truly feels like coming home.
Caring for Our Community
Our clinic was founded with a simple goal: to help people hear better and stay connected to the people they love.
Whether it's hearing grandchildren tell stories, chatting with friends over coffee, or enjoying conversations around the dinner table, hearing is about relationships.
Those same relationships have always been at the heart of rural communities like Forest.
We're proud to continue that tradition by providing compassionate, local hearing care close to home.
Looking Ahead
While so much has changed since George and Ethal Harper lived in Warwick Township, one thing hasn't changed—the importance of caring for your community.
Our business story started in Strathroy, but thanks to one afternoon drive, a conversation about community and a family connection that spans more than 170 years, we can look forward to meeting new neighbors, reconnecting with familiar faces and becoming part of the community that has been part of my family’s story for generations.
From our family to yours, welcome to Caradoc Hearing Forest.
