Image

Long-time pharmacist, volunteer named Senior of the Year

July 2, 2021

Plympton-Wyoming Mayor Lonny Napper can remember going to Paul Marley’s door to collect team jerseys for the local baseball team.

The pharmacist, who lives in the center of the village, would regularly sponsor a team. But Marley’s community mindedness went far beyond the local ball diamonds; that’s why Napper and Plympton-Wyoming council named him 2021’s Senior of the Year.

Marley came to Wyoming when he was just 13. His dad was taking over the local pharmacy. Years later, he’d follow in his father’s footsteps with wife, Lois, at his side.

The Marley home was connected to the pharmacy – something everyone in town knew – so, even on holidays, Lois says people would come to the door looking for help.

When he wasn’t busy meeting the town’s medical needs, he was a volunteer with the Wyoming Lions. Town officials say he’s been a member for 59 years.

Marley is also a history buff keeping all kinds of artifacts from the pharmacy including the original weigh scales. The Wyoming man is generous with that history – he donated enough artifacts from the pharmacy that the Camlachie Museum has a small display of an apothecary thanks to his generousity.

And, over the years, Marley has been active in his local church. He and Lois are lifelong members of the Wyoming United Church. Lois is a lay minister and before COVID-19 curtailed their activities, she and Paul would travel around Lambton County preaching at local nursing homes for the residents.

Marley was pleased to receive the award from Mayor Lonny Napper adding Wyoming is a great place to live because “it has everything.”

Share This

Image
Front Page

Remembering Newell Hastings

June 14, 2025

Heather Wright/The Independent Sunday, Newell Hasting’s service to King and Country over a century ago was remembered in a peaceful church cemetery near Watford. Hasting was born in Petrolia and his family moved to Watford around the turn of the century. He signed up to serve in the miltia with Watford’s 149th Battalion before being called up for service. He

Read More

Image
Front Page

Sidewalk projects around First Ave this summer

June 13, 2025

Heather Wright/The Independent Sidewalks along First Street in Petrolia will be getting an upgrade once school is out for the summer. It’s part of the latest large project to improve the town’s sidewalk system. In 2023, BM Ross and Associates completed a study on Petrolia’s sidewalk system and found it lacking. It suggested $1.5 million in sidewalk construction was needed

Read More

Image
Front Page

Aamjiwnaang evacuates parts of community as INEOS decommissioning increases benzene levels

June 13, 2025

Leaders of the Aamjiwnaang First Nation are evacuating residents between Churchill Road and Tashmoo Ave after high levels of benzene have been detected in the area. Just before noon Friday, INEOS Styrolutions issued a notice saying hourly benzene emissions have been detected about 0.021 parts per million. The company is decommissioning the plant which is within eyesight of Aamjiwnaang’s band

Read More

Image
Front Page

St Philip’s student wins big at national fair

June 13, 2025

The Independent Ben Harper made a splash at the Canada-Wide Science Fair in Fredericton taking home a bronze medal. The Grade 8 student from St. Philip’s in Petrolia presented his climate-focused project called A Wavy Problem – Navigating the Surges of Climate Change last week and won a bronze medal in his division. The Petrolia student tested six different offshore

Read More