Building Bridges

Trish Stenson and Jo Hansen Co-owners of the The General on Millpond and The Gen Bridge in Hastings

You could call it the “art of community” – a precious aspect of local culture that Jo Hansen and Trish Stenson have been busy mastering for years. Sitting with neighbours in a picturesque cobblestone courtyard off Front Street East in Hastings, sipping a frosty café and listening to live music as a host of artisans sold their wares in the makeshift marketplace, I was inspired. I’d been coming to this little town for almost 25 years now, and while I’d always appreciated the convenience of its wellstocked grocery store, the culinary fare of a couple of the local establishments, and the charm of the friendly hardware store, suddenly Hastings felt as though it had much more to offer. This lively little outdoor space, dubbed The Gen Bridge, had become a destination. But what was especially heartwarming was the realization that Trish and Jo’s gift to the community was really taking off, and the comforting, cosy cool they’d masterminded had definitely arrived in Hastings.

The Northumberland County magic first started bubbling up for Trish and Jo in 2012, when Trish, an accomplished social worker and psychotherapist who grew up in Montreal, and Jo, a celebrated costume designer for film and television who hails from Red Deer, decided to purchase a 45-acre farm just outside Warkworth. Although they originally met in the early 1980s, the pair didn’t get together romantically until 1997. They eventually landed in Toronto, where Trish had a big corporate gig and Jo won awards for her costume work. Life took its twists and turns, with Trish successfully battling cancer in 2008. Jo’s dad passed away that same year, and she lost her brother a couple of years later.

The couple had first looked for a property in Prince Edward County, but it seemed too expensive and too far. They found a realtor who was connected to the Warkworth area, and when they were first shown the property they eventually bought, Jo said she burst into tears. You could call it love at first sight. “I grew up on a farm,” Jo explains, “and I had pretty much gotten to the point where I was going to accept not ever living on a farm again. And then all these things happened. And we thought, ‘Can we figure this out? Can we make it work?’”

Although the quiet country life in Warkworth had its appeal, retirement was nowhere in their cards. The duo needed an imaginative new project they could really sink their teeth into – something that would suit Trish’s entrepreneurial flair and Jo’s keen creative eye. They turned to Warkworth’s Main Street and came across the perfect location to make their next big dream come true. “Let’s just do it!” they both said. And perhaps because they weren’t sure of exactly what they were going to stock their new shop with, they decided to call it The General.

“I’d spent time in the costume design world,” says Jo, “and a lot of time doing period westerns in Alberta. And every one of those shows has a general store. I spent a lot of time on those sets, and I liked that feeling.”

“The metaphor of a bridge that links the community together and links us to the community really hit home.” JO HANSEN

The General opened its doors in 2016 with a wide array of imaginative tchotchkes and gifts, both whimsical and practical, from whisky flasks, socks and building blocks to cast iron cookware, lumber jackets and hand-crafted jewelry to puzzles, hot sauce and baby onesies. And there was always a heady assortment of books too. The wildly popular shop had a fabulous run, but when Covid hit, the building went up for sale. Trish and Jo felt it had its limitations, and they weren’t interested in purchasing it. “So it was either a decision to close down completely or look for something new,” recounts Trish. “We had looked at Hastings before, and I almost saw it as a bit of a sleeper town. It has the water, and it’s got lots of things going on, like new developments. So we thought, maybe…”

The stars were aligned. An interesting building they’d admired – a former hairdressing salon – came up for sale, and Trish and Jo bought it two days later. Of course some folks were wondering if this new incarnation of The General – to be known as The General on Millpond – could ever be as hip and cool as the original Warkworth shop. But the magic translated, and Trish and Jo’s new emporium is better than ever.

The couple didn’t stop there. The concept of “the third place” – a social surrounding that is different from the two usual environments of the home and the workplace – was percolating in Jo’s mind. “And it’s better if that third place is outside. There’s no real obligation to it, and you’re meeting your community. And it really struck me that this could be it, and it could serve us as well.” Out of dreams grow realities, and their novel outdoor space, The Gen Bridge, was born. It occupies the small lot next door and is devoted to letting the good times roll, with frequent musical performances, refreshments and artisanal vendors, giving it a wee market feel.

“It really just extended our business,” says Trish. While Trish and Jo admit they’re still learning about the business – sometimes making it up as they go along – it’s obvious that building on the idea of community is what’s ultimately important to them. “It could be partially because of our LGBTQ connections,” reflects Trish. “And we’ve always been community based, I think due to my social work background. And Jo’s involvement with the film community has always been so important. Everything’s about the team. So this was just a natural thing for us to do.”

These days, Trish and Jo are hard at work building on their dream. “We’re always travelling around, looking for things that are Canadian if we can; and things that are unique, with a variety of price points,” says Trish. “And we’re always finding new stuff,” Jo continues. “That’s a big, big part of the job. We’re always looking.”

But spirited selection of products aside, Trish and Jo really pour their passion into the concept of community. Northumberland County in general, and now Hastings, have proven to be the perfect location for them. “When we moved here in 2012, I thought that we were in danger of being isolated,” says Jo. “But it was the opposite. We’ve never had a bigger community – of all stripes and colours; and I’ve never had a bigger social network. It was surprising to us.”

While The Gen Bridge space will be open until Thanksgiving, with a special market at Christmas, The General on Millpond will be open until January and will then close for the winter. There’s no doubt their creative cogs keep turning. “We were ‘world building,’ to take a term from the film world,” says Jo, “trying to create it all. But there are things we don’t have to do this year. Let’s just get this rolling one step at a time.”

There’s no denying that serendipity has played a role in Trish and Jo’s vision coming to life. “When we were laying the cobblestones for The Gen Bridge last year,” Jo says, “folks would walk by who were kids when the main bridge in Hastings was built in 1967. They told us there was a small Bailey bridge (a portable bridge) at the time that went to this exact spot. So we were excited to think that there was actually a little bridge here at one point – and the meta – phor of a bridge that links the community together and links us to the community really hit home.”

“And the stories we hear from people who have lived here forever,” adds Trish, “telling us tales about when they were kids. It really is about the people.”

Trish and Jo can see that with lots of young families moving in, new development, and so many people driving through Hastings on their way to Peterborough, this is one small town that’s really on the move. “It’s a good moment here,” they say with a smile. And building meaningful bridges has never felt more timely.