Ketchup chips, the injured mover and more. 11 of the most interesting people we met in 2023

Every year, CBC Hamilton reporters meet some of the most interesting people in the Hamilton, Burlington and Niagara Region and introduce them to you.

2023 was a great year for finding stories about remarkable people doing remarkable things.

Here's a look back at just a few of Hamilton's most interesting people in 2023 

Rich Lieberman went on a two-day road trip with his 15-year-old deaf and legally blind son, Jacob, to stock up on Jacob's favourite chips. The Liebermans drove the backroads from Virginia all the way to Niagara Falls, all for 40 bags of ketchup chips.

"They had 41 bags, so we left one," 58-year-old Rich told CBC Hamilton. The store's owner ended up meeting them, taking a picture of them and posting it to Facebook, where it has been shared more than a thousand times across various pages and groups.

It didn't end there. When they got home the chips kept coming. "No Frills thought Jacob didn't get enough chips a couple weeks ago when visiting their store in Niagara Falls. They just shipped him NINE CASES of various [flavours] of chips," Lieberman wrote on Facebook on July 31.

Marvin Mulder, 52, says his whole life changed after being injured while working as a mover in Hamilton in 2010.

A herniated disc in his spine contributes to daily pain, back spasms and mobility issues, and prevents him from working, playing with his grandchildren, and sometimes even getting out of bed. "It wasn't an accident, it was just the job," says Mulder, who is among a groundswell of injured Ontario workers speaking out against proposed changes to Workplace Safety and Insurance Board (WSIB) policies.

He has advice for young workers. He says "If I see someone going into the skilled trades, I'd say, 'Don't do it, it's not worth it. God forbid you get injured. Your life will be destroyed.'"

Hamilton resident Sofia Palma Florido got to know the stories of Latin American seniors while she was studying at McMaster. 

Palma Florido's project, Calling Home: Oral histories of Latin American older immigrants in Hamilton, captured the stories of five seniors living in the city, and was "rooted in a community's desire to share and pass on oral histories to the next generations." The project has connected her even more deeply to her grandmother.

"My maternal grandmother was a wonderful Colombian woman with a heart overwhelmed with generosity. She did not receive a formal education but had an incredible memory, remembering nearly everything about everyone she met. I believe this gift allowed her to make everyone in her life feel all the more special," Palma Florido said.

Elijah Sinclair, a graduating student from Bernie Custis Secondary School, became the first student at the school to get recruited by a university-level football team — despite the school not having a football field. He's that good. 

"I can't remember a time when I wasn't throwing around a football out front with my friends or something," he said.