A Newfoundlander, now living in Ontario, says the pandemic gave him and his family a gift they won’t soon forget.

When the pandemic struck, Matthew Mason and his family decided to leave the GTA and move to Fermeuse to the cabin they bought the year before.

That, he says, was the best decision they ever made.

The family immediately put down roots, kept working online and experienced life as it could never be lived in a city the size of Toronto.

His two children went to a “wonderful school” with 12 kids per class, spent time with their grandparents and Newfoundland cousins and made “great new friends.” He says his sons learned how to snare rabbits, played hockey on a pond, had a full year of soccer, sleepovers and birthday parties. Mason says as they pack up and move back to Ontario they will be forever grateful to the people of Fermeuse and Renews for a year they’ll never forget.