Might not be an earth-shattering revelation, but the book more likely was The War Years.  

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Truckers rarely used the Big Bend Highway ; it took up to 8 hours to travel the 190 miles of dust , gravel, and washouts.

My mammy wasn't thinking that far back, but she'd sometimes comment: "The good ol' days... haarrumph .... you can have 'em."   Nonetheless I tip my toque to previous generations.

I guess this isn't "history" .... just yet  ... but everything in due course:

Edit:  190 miles in 8 hours isn't even a brisk walk ... but I guess the alternate route would have taken mucho more than 8 hours???

The breeze along the river seems to say
That he'll only break my heart again
Should I decide to stay
So, little snowbird
Take me with you when you go
To that land of gentle breezes
Where the peaceful waters flow

quote:

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Originally posted by chuckv97

The breeze along the river seems to say
That he'll only break my heart again
Should I decide to stay
So, little snowbird
Take me with you when you go
To that land of gentle breezes
Where the peaceful waters flow

---

Some years back we held cycling club rides on Wednesdays on Wolfe Island. One time we boarded the ferry back to Kingston, only to have it mark time part way through the crossing and go no farther. We wondered what was happening until the Snowbirds appeared, doing their air show right over our heads. Front row seats! It seems that the Royal Military College commencement (graduation) exercises were that day, and this was their salute to the grads. But we had the best view.

quote:

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Originally posted by Paul R

quote:

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Originally posted by chuckv97

The breeze along the river seems to say
That he'll only break my heart again
Should I decide to stay
So, little snowbird
Take me with you when you go
To that land of gentle breezes
Where the peaceful waters flow

---

Some years back we held cycling club rides on Wednesdays on Wolfe Island. One time we boarded the ferry back to Kingston, only to have it mark time part way through the crossing and go no farther. We wondered what was happening until the Snowbirds appeared, doing their air show right over our heads. Front row seats! It seems that the Royal Military College commencement (graduation) exercises were that day, and this was their salute to the grads. But we had the best view.

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Nice!  When I was a kid in St. Catharines we'd see the Snowbirds over the Lake Ontario nearby when they did the air show at the Ex on Labour Day

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The oldest lighthouse on the Great Lakes

and , what's more....

So much for a peaceful summer in these parts of,, sheesh. This is where we hold our bluegrass festival - hopefully this stuff stays on the other side of the gates.

cbc.ca/news/canada/calgary/sun...9.7237160

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A piece of railway (Canucks usually don’t say “railroad”, ‘cept Gord Lightfoot) history.
Trail, btw, was home to the Trail Smoke Eaters, an amateur hockey team that won Gold at the 1961 World Ice Hockey Championships.
It’s also the hometown of baseballer Jason Bay and puckster Ray Ferraro.

So long as the stars are properly aligned, in a couple of days we head off to the Barrows Music Festival.   Chances are that Ron Burwash [line mate of Clarke and Leach in FF]  could be there.  I'd not heard of the Burwash Industrial Farm before, so when this https://www.facebook.com/photo?fbid=1472355571590148&set=a.546211070871274 popped up on Facebook this a.m. it got me wondering.... ???  [If he's there, I guess I'll have to ask if it's part of his family lore .............. and on which "side."  ]

There was the Burtch correctional farm near Wilsonville ! , Ontario….. hmmm

I expect this will have limited interest,* and IF it's "history" I suppose it's ongoing history .... it's a couple of minutes read about Alberta's Heritage Savings Trust Fund.  https://www.facebook.com/photo?fbid=1085414070495673&set=a.131450755892014  I've read a couple of similar critiques and am wondering whether Councillor Graham knows of what he speaks.  

* maybe enough to provoke a comment from somebody west of Medicine Hat??   

[I did exchange pleasantries (?) with Mr. Burwash on the weekend, but the industrial farm never came up.]

^^^ I’ve wondered about that Heritage Fund , finally asked a long-time Albertan about it a few years ago - he just shrugged and said “it’s all gone”. The separatists don’t want to hear about it,, they’re entrenched and have dug in ignoring any rational arguments against their views. Much of it stems from deep resentment of Quebec ,, the Trudeaus ,, 1980’s National Energy Program,, & a general hatred of “The East”.

We lived in AB for a year in the mid-70s [i.e. when oil was $2 a barrel ??].   I'm pretty sure I heard news reports around that time that the Heritage Fund was so flush with cash that it was used to pay off all municipal debt [a one time event].    I've been unable to find confirmation on the internet .... until just now, when lo-and-behold via an AI Overview: Alberta Heritage Savings Trust Fund was used indirectly to finance and retire municipal capital debt through the Alberta Municipal Financing Corporation (AMFC) in its early decades. Between 1976 and 1982, the Heritage Fund lent over $1.5 billion to the AMFC to help local governments access low-cost capital for infrastructure like waterworks, utilities, and roads. [1, 2, 3].   

Anyhow, that's my story and I'm stickin' to it.

quote:

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Originally posted by chuckv97

^^^ I’ve wondered about that Heritage Fund , finally asked a long-time Albertan about it a few years ago - he just shrugged and said “it’s all gone”. The separatists don’t want to hear about it,, they’re entrenched and have dug in ignoring any rational arguments against their views. Much of it stems from deep resentment of Quebec ,, the Trudeaus ,, 1980’s National Energy Program,, & a general hatred of “The East”.

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I've read some stuff some time back, contrasting how Alberta and Norway handled oil revenues, with Norway charging much more and therefore banking loads of $$$ while Alberta eventually bled dry. The conclusion was that they could have made so much more, but were too "giving" to the oil companies.

quote:

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Originally posted by chuckv97

The oldest lighthouse on the Great Lakes

and , what's more....

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Geez, Chuck, that takes me back to the Seventies when I was volunteer staff at the Mariposa Folk Festival on the Islands, first on Olympic Island and then on Centre Island. I saw all sorts of performers and met some, including Utah Phillips, John Prine, Bruce Cockburn, John Hartford (with Norman Blake, Vassar Clements, and Tut Taylor), and others. I even had dinner with John Prine - just some fried chicken and a few minutes' conversation until a music industry type started to blather on and I got up and went home. My staff badge got me in some up close positions. My first year on staff, '71, some old blues guy needed to get to the Island (we were still on the mainland) and our chartered boat wasn't going to come for a long while. I took him to the ferry dock and flashed my badge and raced through the ticket booth, only realizing later that I'd just gate crashed (and gotten away with it!). Best memories: carrying Elizabeth Cotten's guitar for her, back to the rest area while she complained that "Freight Train" essentially ruined it for her because that's all she was famous for; also hanging out under a blue tarp attached to a white construction trailer (one of the h.q. trailers in the rest area) in the pouring rain while Mike Seeger and Alice Gerrard led us all in singing "Down in the Valley to Pray". Or the time the return boat (a glass covered sightseeing boat, rented for the weekend) stopped at a dock to gas up, and we got out to stretch our legs. Two old blues guys stood there looking at a trimaran, saying, "That's something!" ... "Yeah, that's really something!" ... "Somebody had to rip off someone else to get that thing!" And, yeah, I saw some great music, too. (I was staff from '71 to '82, finishing up as a stage manager. The last festival on the Islands was in '79.)

I went to Mariposa on Centre Island around 1970-71, can’t quite remember. Saw Ramblin’ Jack do his thing, Gordon Bok, , walking along I was surprised to see Sonny & Brownie just sitting on a park bench like regular folks - I figured anybody who was in my record collection would act like “big stars’ , ha. The most memorable was everyone singing “Good Night Irene” on the ferry back to the mainland led by Michael Cooney.
(as fer gate crashing of sorts, when I busked the subway stations in 2002 I used to flash my TTC busking permit card as I raced through the ticket turnstiles. Only once was I yelled at & stopped by à the ticket agent,,, and no, it wasn’t at your loco Runnymede station….)

Re. "My staff badge got me in some up close positions."

I guess this is from t'other end of the spectrum.    [And one time in the boarding lineup at some airport or the other in the US, I briefly stepped over onto the red/blue/?? carpet. Unfortunately my wife was unprepared, so there's no photographic evidence.]

The most up close was in '72, when Joni Mitchell and others (Neil Young, Gordon Lightfoot, Bob Dylan) showed up unannounced to cruise the Festival grounds (still on Olympic Island). I was tipped off when I overheard a couple of the Festival directors wondering, "What should we do about the lady?" I was head of Information at the time. I noticed that Murray McLauchlan had an hour slot at one of the stages. I figured he might give half of that to Joni. So I stood behind the stage and watched Murray and, sure enough, he did a half-hour and then handed the stage over to Joni. When she sat at the electric piano, I could have reachd out and touched her. Of course, had I, there would have been consequences. And I was standing beside Jackson Browne at the time.

McLauchlan and Bruce Cockburn had the same manager, so I figured that Bruce would do the same, this time for Neil Young. (I had been on the staff boat to the island. I sat across from one of the guys I thought were security. Nope. It was Neil Young.) Sure enough, it happened. When he finished, Neil, went into the backstage tent. A bunch of people were standing around just staring at the tent. I said to them, "You saw him play, what more do you want?" They snapped out of their trance and wandered off.

Later, a police launch had to be called to get Dylan off the island - the following crowds were actually a danger.

Standing in back of a crowd watching about six players with guitars, Utah Phillips said to me, "Sure are a lot of guitars up there." I answered, matter of factly, "It's the guitar workshop." The look he gave me could have struck someone dead.

“ee-lek-trik” piano?? At a folk festival , esp. back then? ,,,, oh yeah, I forgot- Dylan in Newport 1965 ruined it for the purists….

Isn't there enough acoustic stuff remining to placate, if not satisfy, the purists?   [Askin' for a friend.  ]

I maintain… move ee lek trik music out of the folk and bluegrass category. If’n ya can’t play it in the middle of a field …. well, you know…