Bright news: 'Mr. Wonderful' lights up retirement tree and a mom and son open a café

A Hamilton husband arranged more than 2,000 lights on a 12‑metre spruce outside his retirement unit, and in Oakville a mother and her son are opening BU Café and Market, a business that plans to employ people with disabilities.

Two warm local stories are in focus: one about a husband who surprised his wife with a decorated outdoor spruce and another about a mother and son opening a café to create jobs for people with disabilities. Gord and Joan MacRae live at the Twenty Place retirement community in Mount Hope, where Gord arranged for more than 2,000 lights on a spruce more than 12 metres tall. The lights were installed by a Holiday Lights Canada team and run on a timer from 4 p.m. to 10 a.m. In Oakville, Jacob Stettler and his mother, Karen Drexler, are preparing to open BU Café and Market after Jacob developed a candle business called BU Candles. Known details: - Gord and Joan MacRae live at Twenty Place in Mount Hope; Gord organized lights for a spruce that partially overhangs a pond and is more than 12 metres tall, with installation handled by Tim Hanlon’s Holiday Lights Canada team. - The outdoor lights are timed to be on from 4 p.m. to 10 a.m., and the couple say the display has been well received by neighbours. - Jacob Stettler, 28, who has Down syndrome and is a childhood cancer survivor, started BU Candles in 2021 and is co‑owner of BU Café and Market at 77 Lakeshore Rd. W. in Oakville. - The café plans to have at least one employee with a disability working each day; two staffers with Down syndrome have been hired so far. - Hamilton’s Triple C farm has added a Jacob cross lamb named Panda, and a black cat called Shadow was found in northern B.C. after five months and reunited with its owner with help from visitors. Summary: These stories highlight neighbourliness and inclusive employment efforts in the Hamilton and Oakville area. The decorated spruce remains lit nightly on a timer, and BU Café and Market will begin operations this weekend with a grand opening planned for February.