After years of loneliness living on the streets, Gordon Petrie’s chance move into a rundown shed outside a Ukrainian Catholic church in Surrey, B.C., has brought him friendship, community and a family reunion out of his wildest dreams.

Francis Campbell’s column last week about a 200-year-old teapot, a story steeped in family history and faith, brought to mind a three-decade-old tale about another family heirloom.