No Apologies Necessary for Sorry… I’m Canadian

Sorry… I’m Canadian
Conceived & Directed by Alex Mustakas, Additional script by Dave Broadfoot
Performed by Neil Aitchison, with music by Duncan Cameron, Bobby Prochaska, Mark Stewartson & Danny Williams
Musical Arrangements by Nicole Gusé
Visual Elements by Steve Roth
Drayton Entertainment Production
Huron Country Playhouse, Grand Bend
June 24 to July 12, 2008

Live! On Stage!
Review by Mary Alderson

At every opening night at Huron Country Playhouse, you can always count on Neil Atchison for a few laughs. He made the single-clap applause famous – in order to speed up acknowledgement of the sponsors, he asks the audience to clap once when he points, as he announces each donor: “When I give you the finger, you give them the clap,” he says.
It turns out that Sorry…I’m Canadian is just more of good old Neil, being, well, just good old Neil. Oh, sure he’s supposed to be RCMP Constable Archibald F. Inkster. But the audience knows and loves him as Neil Atchison. So instead of just a couple of jokes, we’re treated to more than two hours of hilarity, in a good, old-fashioned variety show. Constable Inkster is our master of ceremonies. We see film depicting the beauty of Canada, we are treated to Canadian music, and a family of Ontario kids provides some top-notch step-dancing.
It’s another hit for Drayton Entertainment Artistic Director Alex Mustakas. He conceived and directed this show, as he did last year for Legends, and Twist & Shout a couple of years earlier. He also came up with similar shows — Canadian Looney and Canadian Twoonie at other Drayton venues. Mustakas has the knack for creating crowd pleasers—this show will no doubt sell very well as the word spreads.
Atchison as Inkster (or was that Finkster?) rhymes off one funny story after the next, sprinkled with a good one-liners. The jokes contributed by Canadian comedian Dave Broadfoot are evident, with some of the political humour reminiscent of early Royal Canadian Air Farce. Atchison himself reminds us of Red Skelton from away back – he tells the joke, the audience reacts, and then he giggles along, waiting for the laughter to subside. We even get a glimpse of his tongue, Red Skelton style. Some of the jokes are as old as Red Skelton, too, but they are all funny, so it’s quite forgivable. Like the plumber who advertises: “Don’t sleep with a drip, call me.”
Material is also borrowed from David Letterman’s Great Moments in Presidential Speeches, where George Bush is mocked. The opening night audience roared as Atchison read a posted list of Bush-isms. Atchison’s strength is his ability to make it seem like he’s just chatting directly with you, and you’re good friends sharing a joke. He is completely comfortable on stage, whether he’s playing a Mountie or he’s Anne of Green Gables in ridiculous red pigtails.
Music is provided by a great group called the K-9 Four including Bobby Prochaska, Danny Williams, Mark Stewartson, and Duncan Cameron. You’ll recognize Williams as the wonderful voice behind “He ain’t Heavy, He’s my Brother”, and “Whiter Shade of Pale” in Twist & Shout (both at Huron Country Playhouse and The Grand) and also “Bridge Over Trouble Waters” in last year’s Legends. In this show, Williams treats us to a moving performance of Burton Cummings’ “Break it to Them Gently”. The music is actually a travelogue across Canada west to east. We enjoy Susan Aglukark’s “O’Seim”, a Gordon Lightfoot medley, Leonard Cohen’s “Hallelujah”, and even some Stompin’ Tom. “Fox on the Run” is a crowd-pleaser. The first act closes with a sing-along of Canadian favourites, and the second act moves into lively East Coast hits.
Rounding out the show is a family of step-dancers: The Ballagh Bunch, featuring Devon, 17, Michael, 15, and Paige, 13, with 8 year old Matthew and Mom joining later. The audience loves them – what could be cuter?
Nothing is sacred in Sorry…I’m Canadian. There’s a dart board on the wall next to Prime Minister Stephen Harper’s portrait – and you know that all the darts don’t hit the dart board. The Mountie rides in on a hobby horse. Still, despite all the jabs and pokes made at the Canadian establishment, this show makes us very proud to be Canadians. Sorry…I’m Canadian is the best way possible to celebrate Canada’s 141st birthday. If you didn’t get there on July 1st, you can still make it in the next two weeks.
Sorry…I’m Canadian continues with eight shows a week until July 12 at Huron Country Playhouse, Grand Bend. Tickets are available at the Huron Country Playhouse box office at (519) 238-6000, Drayton Entertainment at 1-888-449-4463, or check out www.draytonentertainment.com.

Mary Alderson offers her view of area theatre in this column on a regular basis. As well as being a fan of live theatre, she is a former journalist who is currently employed with the Ontario Association of Community Futures Development Corporations.

The Music Man is a Sweet Swindler - Stratford Festival

The Music Man
Book, Music and Lyrics Meredith Willson
Performed by Jonathan Goad, Leah Oster, Eddie Glen, Lee MacDougall, Fiona Reid & Company
Directed by Susan H. Schulman
Stratford Shakespeare Festival Production
Avon Theatre
April 26 to November 1, 2008

Live! On Stage!
Review by Mary Alderson

The Music Man is a well written musical that gives us a snapshot of life in 1912 Iowa. What makes it interesting is the fact that it was entirely created by one man with the unlikely name of Meredith Willson: he wrote the book, music and lyrics. Most musicals are collaborations. Willson does give credit to Franklin Lacey for a partnership on the story. But from the story, Willson single-handedly put together the show.
This season’s production at the Avon Theatre in Stratford is very well done. Ironically the name has been changed to the Stratford Shakespeare Festival, but now they seem to be having more success with their musicals than their Shakespeare.
The Music Man is a about a con man who rides into River City, Iowa on the train, Working under the alias Professor Harold Hill, he gets the townspeople to buy band instruments and uniforms for their boys with the promise of forming a marching band. The fake professor can’t play a note of music and plans to leave town right after he collects all the money, but before he has to lead the band. However, this time the traveling salesman gets his foot caught in the door, when he falls in love with Marion the Librarian.
What makes The Music Man so endearing are the many favourite songs – Trouble, Seventy-six Trombones, Iowa Stubborn, Marion the Librarian, Shipoopi, Wells Fargo Wagon, and the list goes on. One love song, Til there was you, has the distinction of being the only musical theatre piece covered by the Beatles. This cast is overflowing with good singers, they would make Willson proud.
Always an audience favourite is the barbershop quartet, and in this production they don’t disappoint. In perfect harmony, they sing Ice Cream - Sincere, Good Night Ladies, and Lida Rose.
Jonathan Goad is excellent as Harold Hill, and charms everyone both on stage and off. Leah Oster is a very good Marion, handling My White Knight beautifully. Providing the comedy are Eddie Glen and Sara Topham as Marcellus Washburn and Ethel Toffelmier. Glen will be familiar for his Charlie Brown at the Grand and various roles at Huron Country Playhouse including Sancho in Man of LaMancha, as well as TV ads. Sara Topham proves she does comedy as well as she does drama. It’s interesting to note that Jonathan Goad and Sara Topham are graduates of the Birmingham Conservatory, Stratford Festival’s in-house professional training program.
Lee MacDougall is excellent as Mayor Shinn. Instead of making the character into a clown, he is a realistic mayor, delivering the hilarious lines dead-pan funny. Fiona Reid (a Canadian TV favourite, and the groom’s mom in Big Fat Greek Wedding) also shows her wonderful comedic ability as the mayor’s wife. Lindsay Thomas as Gracie Shin gives another entertaining performance as she did as Ado Annie last year. Eric Robertson is a lively Tommy Djilis, the same part he played at Huron Country Playhouse several years ago.
And of course, the audience loves Christopher Van Hagen who plays little Winthrop Paroo – the role in the movie version that started Ron Howard’s career. Also endearing are Aveleigh Keller as Amaryllis and Koltan Stewart as the little drummer boy in the curtain call.
With lively choreography by Michael Lichtefeld and music direction by Berthold Carriere, the chorus provides great entertainment. The dance numbers are dynamic and the singing rich and full. In a salute to Stratford, the cast has some fun with the Library scene. The young couple are reading Romeo & Juliet, and then act out the final death scene.
The set is a miniature River City, all in warm, soft cream colours. Similarly, the lighting is soft, but then brightens for the energetic dance numbers.
Director Susan Schulman can take pride in the cast she assembled to give life to this classic. There is a wonderful small town atmosphere that even makes the audience feel included when the stubborn Iowans warm up and becoming welcoming.
This is a good family show – many parents and grandparents brought along the children. The ushers were busy providing booster seats, and the kids that I saw in the audience were enthralled with the show.
The Music Man continues at the Avon Theatre, Stratford until November 1. For tickets, call the box office at 1-800-567-1600 or check www.stratfordshakespearefestival.ca.

Mary Alderson offers her view of area theatre in this column on a regular basis. As well as being a fan of live theatre, she is a former journalist who is currently employed with the Ontario Association of Community Futures Development Corporations.

Do you have gas pains?

View from the Strip
By Casey Lessard

Everyone seems to be concerned about the price of gas these days, and I’m certainly among the crowd. I’m not eager to face the pumps when I have to resume my commute to Toronto every week to teach this fall.
But what do you do? I’ve been trying to figure out ways to reduce my reliance on my vehicle, but in this business it would be impossible to ride a bicycle everywhere. This is one of the curses of living the good life in rural Canada.
They say gas will only get more expensive, and I guess that has always been the case. How expensive does it have to get before you would stop driving, and when does the price of gas impact your life?
My guess is that you are already feeling the effects, especially if you work in Grand Bend, own a farm, commute to London, or simply scrape by on a meager budget. As gas prices escalate, so does the price of everything else. If prices for the things you buy regularly haven’t gone up, they will eventually. Businesses can only shoulder supply and transportation price increases for so long.
With the current crisis, it is time to start thinking of other solutions. During a visit to the Green Living show (yes, we drove to Toronto for it), we could see the exciting prospects of solar power, energy efficient homes, hybrid and electric cars, etc. People want these technologies for the environmental reasons, and they are more attractive when they actually save you money.
Soon enough, these technologies will be more affordable than the fossil fuel technologies we have relied on for so long. I can’t wait for the day, and the environment can’t, either. I only hope enough of us still have jobs when that day arrives.
We would like to hear how gas prices are affecting you.
Drop us a note!

June 25 Letters to the Editor

Dear Casey,
I just wanted to let you know how very well received your (wheelchair accessibility) article was, by your readers and by many merchants. I know it can be a gamble when dealing with businesses and I admit it was not always comfortable for me, but it truly has turned out to be such a worthwhile project.  Scott and I have had so many calls, beautiful letters, and well wishing comments that we were overwhelmed; I have never known such heartfelt concern and support. As we discussed, there have been some incredible hurts and frustrations with people who could not handle the changes in our life. Well, this has done so much to restore my faith in human kindness. Some of the businesses immediately made changes as a result of your article and became very proactive in their attitude.
You are a very kind and generous man yourself and this series of articles demonstrates your commitment to bettering life for all citizens. I hope you feel proud and not too humble that you won’t print this. To all the people who approached Scott and me, wrote and sent cards, I thank you so much as it is just this sort of thing that empowers us to advocate for better services for all persons requiring chronic or long term care. We have a long way to go in getting drug coverage, but the financial services firm of Campbell and Lehman have been very kindly working on a trust fund for myself and others in my position to help with costs until one of either the Ontario Ministry of Health or Hoffman-LaRoche steps up to the plate and does the right thing. It is not my wish to be in the public eye for the reasons that I have been, but if this is what it takes to make improvements for myself and others, then so be it. Thanks again.
Sincerely,
Denise Halpenny
Exeter

To the Editor:
I appreciate your recent efforts to grade accessibility in the area. I have arthritis in both knees and use a cane constantly. Entry to buildings, washroom facilities etc. are things I struggle with on a daily basis.
I was surprised to read that Gar’s (Bar) in Exeter got an average rating. I guess it was fair by your scoring system. However, what distressed me was your mention of the cleaning equipment in the handicap washroom. This is because I was at that facility this past February for lunch and when I went to use the handicap washroom there was a bucket and mops and no room for me. I had to use the regular washroom and – because the toilet was abnormally low – I had to grasp under the door to pull myself up; otherwise, I would still be there. Thank goodness the door held and I was again upright.
I asked to speak to the manager who was “not in today.” So I spoke to the person at hand and asked her to accompany me to the handicap washroom to show her why I was upset. She then explained that the equipment was in there because if she stored it downstairs, she would have to carry it up to clean. Because I didn’t agree this was a good reason to block handicap usage, I then demanded some compensation for my troubles. Am I wrong in assuming there is a law about having a handicap washroom available in public areas?
My compensation ended up being a free lunch. But as my friend expressed to the woman why I was so upset, she responded, “She’s not handicapped!!” I guess more education is needed here. You don’t have to be in a wheelchair to be handicapped! So I was happy to see you mention that in your recent editorial. Thank you for doing this.
There are other problems that people are often not aware of. The number of marked parking spaces is never enough and when I mention this at the municipality I am told the code requires one space for every thirty regular spaces. Is there a law that says you can’t include more than the building code stipulates? Duh! I would think the number of handicapped persons is only going to increase this decade.
Another seldom-confronted situation is the installation of handrails on stairs. Some are on the left and some are on the right. Some people have trouble going up, I have trouble going down and need a rail in my left hand. Why not have rails on both sides?
As Lisa Grady mentioned in her article, people want to do it themselves and maintain their dignity and independence. So let’s help them do that!
Thanks for listening Casey. You are doing a good thing. My next topic will probably be the development of a scent-free environment. Do I have any support on that issue?
Wilma Harris
Port Franks

From the editor: Wilma, thanks for your observations. It must be frustrating when a business has the infrastructure in place, but does not make it available to the customers for which it is designed. Our standard required that someone using a wheelchair can get in the door from the street and get around. If a person could use the washroom, reach the counters and sit at a table, those counted, too. I called Gar’s, and the owner is on vacation, but I was told the cleaning equipment still restricts use of the washroom. It’s a shame because this is a simple change (like other changes that could be made there and elsewhere) that could have helped it earn a higher rating. I was told Gar would likely reflect on this upon his return. Ultimately, business owners need to make accessibility a priority because, as you suggest, more people require such services each year.
Regarding the legal question, I do not believe restaurant washrooms are covered under the law yet, so if you would like to complain, your best avenue would be the Ontario Human Rights Commission. They, however, recommend you address your concerns with the business first.
And regarding the scent-free environment question, that’s certainly a good fight to wage.

I was pleased to see your newspaper in my mailbox; very interesting. I live in Parkhill and do a lot of my shopping in Grand Bend and area. I am very disappointed in the law enforcement that they don’t take care of the ongoing problem with wheelchair parking spaces. I find myself being mad most every time I have to park my truck when I see countless people (parking in these spaces) with no problem walking to the store. You people should be glad you can walk; STOP parking in the wheelchair space. I would stand out in the rain all day just to give out tickets to people who take the wheelchair parking spaces.
For the businesses that make excuses about why they don’t have wheelchair spaces or ramps, you should be ashamed of yourselves. It seems to me that everything has to be about the money. Why does it seem that bad things have to happen to someone before they make changes in their life? We want to make changes in our community but we only want to go halfway. The people in wheelchairs have a right to shop anywhere they want, so why are they being left out?
Patti Wilton
Parkhill

How pleasant a surprise it was to see how well Grace Hodgins was doing after her surgery on Friday, June 13. Grace had to get a pacemaker and I was so worried for her, but like the trouper she is, she rallied once again and is expected to be home shortly. Lots of love and encouragement in your quest for better health. Love and good luck. You go girl!
Joan McCullough
Shipka

On the road again

The road took his life, but Curtis Hutcherson is taking it back the Smart way

As told to Casey Lessard

My first memory of driving was growing up on the tobacco farms of Tillsonburg, driving the trucks back and forth. It was great. Gas was 45 or 50 cents a gallon then. No problem.
My first car was a 1963 Valiant with a little slant-6, 174 Enduro. Wow! It was beautiful. Back then, everybody else was driving the Mustangs, the Camaros, all the hot cars. This was 1966, 67 or 68. I drove the Valiant for a couple of years. I bought it for $100 and sold it for $250.
Then I bought a Rideau 500, a big Ford that sleeps six. Four hundred horses. The whole shebang. It was gorgeous. Then one night, I totaled it. I had gone to a party and was driving home drunk and high. It just rolled off the road. I don’t even remember. Woke up the next morning in the hospital.
I was 19 in 1971. I was doing everything back then. I was working as a rock and roll star with a great bunch of boys. I was not very good at school, but I was there. I had the honour of playing on the Glendale Griffins basketball team and we had some of the best basketball players in Canada: Bruce Colthard, Rick Jacobs, Barry Atkinson – 7’2” and a quarter-inch back then, and we were in high school. We were the best in Ontario.

A sudden stop
One day, I jumped on a motorcycle at the football field. It was a 350 Honda bore out to a 405 Hellcat. Ooh! That was a fast bike. I went “wah-waaah” down the football field and let her go. The next thing I knew, a tree jumped in front of me.
I don’t remember much at all, thank goodness. I had many, many problems. My eye popped out. My nose was pushed to the side of my face. My teeth were all punched in. My jaw was smashed in. My collarbone was broken. My lungs were caved a bit. I had a blood clot tumour. It was just a mess.
I spent many months in hospitals and a year or two in work programs: the CMHA, the Watch program. Later on I got all these other life situations, like diabetes type II, epilepsy, sarcoidosis, trepanning, black lung, manic, manic aggressive. With all of these problems, they took my license away for good.
I lost everything. I lost my life. I lost my friends. Before, it was Hi, Curtis! After I came home two years later, they would cross the street because they didn’t want to get near me. They thought I was a mental case because I had the brain operation and all these other things. So I went off on my own. Then I turned to alcohol and drugs, and that’s where I went after that. I ended up in all these bizarre places. I lived in Coronation Park in the trees. I slept there for a summer. Nobody would even come close to me.
I ran from my mother and my father and my sister and brother. I went from job to job and hitchhiked. I had a little laundry bag on my back and just smiled as I went. I went from Port Rowan to Otterville to Mount Elgin to Ingersoll to London, and over to Vancouver. I went to Algonquin College and Fanshawe College twice.
In between I worked. I would just wake up and say, let’s go somewhere else. I got $20; Wow! Cool! Here we go. Back then, the jobs were there. I would do anything and smile. Sleep under a tree or under a truck. I did that for years and years.
Then I hit 40, and the government said, That’s enough. We don’t know where you are. So they put me on a disability pension.
I got a little cabin at 241 Simcoe in London and lived there. It was great. A little 800 square foot apartment. I had a blast.
Then my mom and dad moved to Grand Bend and a year later, in 1996, my father passed away. I moved here to be with my mother.
My father was a man I loved very much and without him, I didn’t know if there was going to be anything. I went to the rubber room (at the mental hospital), where they put rubber on the walls and you run into them. I had lost it. I lost three people in a row: my grandfather, grandmother and father. They were my heroes. My mother and sister and brother helped me through.

A kick-start
I bought this house (in Grand Bend), and it was a beautiful disaster. It took about a month to paint and redo everything. The bathroom had to be completely revamped. It’s a whole different feeling for me now. I’m secure here and I feel wanted. I’m placed. I have roots here now. I’m 55 now, and I work a little, but just for my mom and friends.
Then last year (November, 2006), they said, Oh! You can drive again, and they gave me my license back.
My mother has a Mercedes-Benz, so we drove to Mercedes to get her car worked on. We walked into the showroom and there was the Smart car. Wow! I walked over to it and said, My God, I could put this in my pocket and pick it up and carry it out. The salesman came over and the next thing I know he’s opening the door. The door is huge – it’s three quarters the size of the car. I sat in the car and there was extra room for me, and I’m 6’2”. It was amazing. He gave me a manual to read and I came back a month later and ordered an automobile. I said, this is what I would like and he took my arm and showed me three that had just come in from Hamilton that night. Would you like the one in the middle? I broke down in tears and cried, and I bought it.
I’ve been 35 years without wheels. Now I have my own little wheels, and once you get in the automobile, you forget the size of it. It’s adorable. And it’s a very reasonable car. It’s a three-cylinder diesel and gets 75 miles to a gallon. I have a five-gallon gas tank. I get 390 miles per tank. I fill it up for $25 now, and I’m good for two to three weeks. Everything is 15 miles away anyway.
I go where I want to. I go to London, Exeter, Goderich, Sarnia. Then I cruise just to go up and down the beaches.
I still feel honoured to drive because the world has finally said, You can come back to life again. I have a date tonight with a young woman and we’re going to the Red Rooster in Forest. I’m still trying to catch up because I’ve been that far without. For 35 years, I’ve lived on are a bicycle and my feet, so I just stayed at home. Plus I have all these medical issues. For example, (because of the diabetes), tonight I might have a diet pop or water or coffee. But I don’t care because I’m there and I’m enjoying it.
It was an emotional rescue for me. First I got my license, and then the insurance, and I jump in mother’s car. Wow! Wow! After 35 years, I’m in the driver’s seat and mother’s in the passenger’s seat. Mother hit me and I said, What? What’s wrong? She said, You’re driving now. I said, Thank you. And away we went.

Sexsmith pilots offer kids chance to fly

Exeter resident Ron Helm flies out of Sexsmith airfield, northwest of Exeter on McDonald Road, just east of Airport Line. The pilots based at Sexsmith will offer free flights to children aged 8 to 17 the morning of June 28 (NOTE: weather delayed until September 13, 2008); pre-registration is recommended by calling Wayne Steeper at 519-235-2441.

As told to Casey Lessard

I grew up during the war in Yorkshire, England, and there was a Canadian bomber base airfield nearby. They used to fly convert Halifax and Lancasters. There were Spitfires and all kinds of other things there, too.
Also in that little town was an aircraft factory that made gliders, and occasionally they had openings for apprentices in the engineering office. I was lucky enough to get one, which was great. The company sponsored me to learn to fly gliders; it cost us a quarter a launch in those days.
I flew from the Yorkshire Gliding Club a little bit, and I used to go on test flights because I was the engineer.
Then I worked for Blackburn, and was a member of the Royal Observer Corps, which is a part-time affiliation with the RAF, so I used to scrounge rides occasionally with those guys.
I came over from the UK in 1967 to work for Canadair – which is now Bombardier – in their engineering department. I worked on vertical takeoff airplanes. They got into difficulties so I came down here from Montreal in 1971. Bell Aerospace was just opening up their plant in Grand Bend, and I used to fly hovercraft for them. I was director of product support and engineering. I was there 16 years before they collapsed, and Sexsmith became part of my life.
I came on the Sexsmith airfield in 1971. I was just interested in airplanes at the time and eventually bought an airplane, which was the Taylorcraft BC-12D (seen in the photo). It’s a 65 horsepower Continental engine, it cruises about 95 miles an hour, and it’s got a rather big wingspan of 36’ because in those days there wasn’t a lot of horsepower and they made up for it by making it light wing loaded. If you go flying in my airplane, you feel the bumps. If you get a strong headwind, your ground speed can be pretty slow sometimes.
You have to hand crank it to start it – it doesn’t have any electrics. It has a radio, but I run that off a motorcycle battery. It’s fairly inexpensive to run: it burns about four gallons of fuel per hour. If you get up to 115 horsepower engines (like Mike Ash’s on opposite page), you’re looking at about six to eight gallons per hour.

Life at Sexsmith
The airfield belonged to a farmer called Leonard Greb. He was a bachelor all his life, and he had a Vagabond airplane that he flew with a great deal of panache. Very opinionated and he would cause an argument just for the heck of doing it. But it was all part of the atmosphere here.
We all had light airplanes like mine and Piper J3s. We used to just enjoy flying around. We’d go off on an evening or breakfast flying on the weekends, maybe to Goderich or Hanover where they had good restaurants. Or we’d go to other guys’ fields where there would always be coffee and donuts to be had. We had a great time.
We used to fly in the winter a lot at that time, too. Most of us had skis so we could go flying in the winter. That was a lot of fun because you could land anywhere.
Ron Riley taught me to fly at Grand Bend. Ron is a bush pilot. Bush pilots need different kinds of skills than airline pilots. Ron had lots of skills that he would teach you that weren’t in the curriculum, like how to get down on a field in difficult circumstances, engine failures, and things like that. Ron was absolutely first class because he had all the real life experience. Everything we did was with a map, a scale rule and a stopwatch. No GPS, and no radios. When you came out of his school, you were a pretty confident pilot. If you weren’t allowed to go solo, you can rest assured you weren’t ready.

A permanent home
Eventually Leonard died. He would spend a lot of time in Florida and we would take care of the field. He left the farm to his brother Wesley, who used to like to spend the summers here. He couldn’t handle the farming, and he said, if you want the airfield, you’d better buy the farm. I’ll make you a deal.
We thought, where are we going to get the money to buy a farm? It’s a lot of money. So we all got together in 2000 and 24 of us decided that we’d put up enough money to buy the farm, and that’s exactly what we did. That was when Sexsmith Pilots Limited was born.
Then people started buying better airplanes. They’re mostly all Cessnas and Pipers now. The biggest airplane on the field is a Saratoga, owned by Gib Dow, who owns the Ironwood Golf Club.
Originally if you wanted to fly, you had to have either a private or commercial pilot’s license. Now they have two more categories: a recreational pilot’s license, which is not as onerous as a private license and costs about half the price; and then there is the microlight pilot’s license.
Beyond the license, you get endorsements for higher performance airplanes, like the one young Gib flies because it flies significantly different from mine. You can get instrument, night flying rating, and then you can go for commercial. I just like recreational flying; that’s what I’m interested in.
It’s nice here; it’s quiet. The company’s always good. It creates nice friendships. They’re just a good group of people. They come from all walks of life and meld into a happy family. Everyone pitches in to keep the airfield the way it is.

The next generation
Young Eagles was started by the Experimental Aircraft Association in Oshkosh, Wisconsin. They realized that we have to get young people interested in aviation; most people won’t make the effort because they just see big dollar signs to get in. But if you can give a kid a ride and it doesn’t cost anything, you might just generate some interest. That’s how the Young Eagles program started. They take a half-hour ride, and get a certificate that the pilot signs and their name goes on an international register.
The other way to get kids interested is through the air cadet corps. They start with gliders and there are limited scholarships to get into power flying. Other than that, you have to dig into your pocket to go to flight school. That, of course, is a big problem because it costs a lot of money. You’re lucky to get a private license for $7,000.

We would love to get other people on the field. The problem is we’re getting older. Once you lose something like this, you can never recreate it. The problem is, kids don’t have the money to fly anymore. I don’t know whether us old guys are the last of a breed or not.

Pilot can’t wait to take friends for flight

Mike Ash of Grand Bend has spent the last 14 years building his plane, which he completed this spring. Soon, he will be allowed to take passengers, but he will not be ready to offer flights for the Young Eagles day. His first – and most frequent - passenger will likely be his wife Kathy, who has waited a long time for a flight.
“It’s exciting when he starts that motor,” Kathy says. “It’s a huge accomplishment. I know Mike feels it’s a big deal, too. He takes it in stride and doesn’t make a big thing of it, but a lot of people have complimented him about the quality of workmanship. He’s such a perfectionist, which is good when you’re building a plane you’re going to be flying around in.”

As told to Casey Lessard

I can’t even remember what triggered my interest in flying. I started taking flying lessons when I was in my late teens. It’s just something that I always wanted to do and was always interested in.
I got my private license and later got my commercial license. A private license allows you to fly, but not for hire. You can fly whatever aircraft you’re licensed for and you can go anywhere you want, but you can’t make money doing it, where with a commercial license you can do that. Then there’s the airline transport rating, which is what the people who fly scheduled airlines have.
I got my helicopter rating and flew helicopters for about three years for a company in King City. I flew various contracts for them, working on forest fires, water-bucketing, moving equipment for drill crews, or just moving survey crews and telecommunications crews around in the North. I have also done rides on fairs and crop pollination. Just a mixed bag.
In the last several years I haven’t been flying much because of the building process. I’m now getting into the flying aspect and I’m really enjoying it, of course.
My plane is a Murphy Rebel. Murphy is based in Chilliwack, BC, and they make several kits, the Rebel being one of them. I did a search for the kind of plane I wanted to build and read a book or two on home builds. I committed to buying the kit before getting a ride in one, which is not so brilliant, but it seems to have worked out well.
I got the kit in November of 1993, and I finished it in the fall of 2007. That sounds like a lot of time, but there’s about 4500 hours invested in it, and there were a couple of years when I didn’t do much on it. I got a little burned out and needed a break. But I got back at it and finished it off.

Taking flight
I think every time I go there’s a tad of apprehension to starting a new little trip. And then, as soon as you’re off the ground, you relax and enjoy the scenery and the day. Landing is the hardest part, especially with a tail-wheel airplane. They’re somewhat skittish when you’re landing. The airplane’s centre of mass is behind the main wheels, so it wants to spin the aircraft around. It takes some footwork to keep it straight on the runway.
There’s a real sense of independence and freedom (to flying); a sense of being in control of your own destiny. Now for me, it’s also the sense of being able to fly an airplane I’ve built.
The cost of fuel is certainly a consideration. People who fly airplanes are not necessarily that much more wealthy than anyone else; they’ve just made flying a priority. They’re going to find the money to buy the gas and maintain the airplane.

Benefits of Sexsmith
This facility is one thing that helps keep costs down. It’s run by volunteers, and it’s economical, and that helps people keep flying. The first time I saw Sexsmith, I was attracted to it. This looked like a good place to house my aircraft. I talked to Ron Helm and found out there was a hangar available and I made arrangements to rent it. It’s such a good spot and there’s a great group of people here willing to help out. It’s also a great location: we have people experts in Huron Park and Fullarton available to help.
Aviation is certainly something that spurs a lot of people’s interest. They’re much better getting a first hand experience and the Young Eagles day is a great chance to do that.
I’m really looking forward when Kathy and I can make some trips. We would like to visit Kathy’s family in Ottawa, and I have cousins in Owen Sound and Windsor, so we’ll be doing trips like that. My goal is to fly to the east coast and the west coast, but I’ve got to work up to that. The number of people on our need-a-ride list is pretty large after 14 years.

Peaking out: make changes before we run out of oil

Alternative View
By Anjhela Michielsen

“Peak oil” is the point when the world will have used half of the oil resources on the planet and the global output of oil will no longer meet demand. Peaking is usually followed by a serious decline, a prospect that worries many researching “peak oil.” Few dispute that oil will hit a peak; the arguments centre on when it will occur. Some say oil’s peak is decades away, but many believe it will happen between 2010 and 2020 (monbiot.com). Today we consume around four times as much oil as we discover.
Peak oil is one of the world’s most serious questions because the consequences are so great. Experts predict that lack of oil will cause a steady rise in prices and frequent oil shocks, leading to increased global instability, and an unstable economy held permanent hostage to terrorists, unstable dictatorships, resource wars and natural disasters. This will start a domino effect of human rights violations in desperate bids by western countries to gain control over remaining oil supplies that fuel their economies.
Isn’t this already happening? Take, for example, the illegal invasion of Iraq in 2003 by the US government with the ultimate agenda of controlling oil reserves in Iraq. The violence has caused devastation to several countries – Afghanistan, Iraq and the US – which will take decades to recover from, and some countries may never recover.
This is only the beginning. Oil corporations already commit massive human rights violations in southern countries through unsafe working conditions, pollution to environment and underpaid labour (and more), and when western countries become desperate for more fossil fuel to maintain their economies and lifestyles, the violence will only increase and the “have-not” countries – as throughout history – will pay the price. The best solution is for us to use our creativity to find solutions and for governments to support initiatives.

Note: just before press-time, the government reaffirmed it would not allow electric vehicles on the roads of most provinces, even though we make them in Canada for an American market. What’s wrong with this picture?

Port Franks cougar sighting - the proof is in the plaster

Port Franks resident feeds big cat that left paw prints in his garden

Story and photos by Casey Lessard

Port Franks resident Bob Rutledge is a friend to animals: he feeds 14 squirrels and a couple of raccoons on a regular basis. So it is only natural that another, larger animal would gravitate to him.
“I’ve been putting food out for the raccoons every night,” he says, describing his routine, “and they come around about 10 o’clock. There’s a big one and a small one. They have their feed and leave.
“Then I’ll put out a few more scraps in a pan and usually around 11 or 11:30, I end up with a big black cat there. He’s way too big to be a normal cat. He’s been around seven or eight times. He sits on my well, eats his dinner and disappears.”
Rutledge believes the animal is a cougar, which others in the area say they have sighted over the past year.
“It’s the black one,” he says. “It’s probably about three or three-and-a-half feet in length. One of my neighbours spotted a tan one at the corner of his house. The cougar’s main food is deer, and there have been an awful lot of those around this year, so they’re probably well-fed. They appear to be, because all of the small animals around here haven’t disappeared. ”
To date, no one has proof enough for wildlife authorities to confirm the animal’s identity. Now, Rutledge believes he has proof to confirm what he has seen with his eyes.
“Our daughter is getting married on the 5th of July, so we’re trying to get our yard ready. Saturday night, we put in some new soil and new grass, very loose. Overnight Saturday night, he walked down through the middle of it and we got an excellent set of paw prints. My neighbour Tony Miller came over and made some casts of it.
“It’s certainly a wild animal. It’s about three to four times the size of a domestic cat. The paw prints are five to six inches in length, and the pads were sunk down a good inch into the soft earth.”
Officials have told Rutledge they need DNA or other forensic evidence (hair, blood, saliva) before they can confirm anything, but for now, he is content to enjoy the view – from the safety of his home.
“I watch them from my kitchen window. It’s been interesting to sit and watch them. One day it went past in broad daylight. And it moves very rapidly.”

Oh Canada! - Playhouse presents Sorry… I’m Canadian

Playhouse does Canadian classics Legends style

Story by Casey Lessard
Photo courtesy Drayton Entertainment

“Canadians typically say sorry for everything. We’re sorry for this and sorry for that.”
And that, says star Neil Aitchison, is the running joke for his role in Sorry… I’m Canadian, which runs June 24 to July 12 at the Huron Country Playhouse.
“Alex (Mustakas) and I collaborated and wrote this, and it’s a patriotic, feel good show.”
Aitchison stars as RCMP Constable Archibald F. Inkster, and this is the fourth incarnation for the character; previously, Aitchison played the role at Drayton and St. Jacobs in Bending the Bows, Canadian Loonie, and Canadian Twonie.
“After four different shows, we ran out of some of our one-liners, so we conscripted (renowned Canadian comedian) Dave Broadfoot,” Aitchison says. “He helped us and collaborated on a few other one-liners because we wanted to do a cross-country tour on this show. I have about 30 pages of dialogue in my head and four-and-a-half of them are from Dave Broadfoot.”
Besides jokes about Stephen Harper, hockey, the weather, and other Canadianisms, the real star attraction is the music. The show could be compared in style to last year’s Legends, but is different in the type of music: it’s all Canadian.
“They’ll recognize all the music. Burton Cummings, Gordon Lightfoot, maritime music, Leonard Cohen, some French, Alberta Bound, Saskatchewan music, music from the Inuit from Susan Aglukark. And of course, all the Canadian patriotic songs like Something to Sing About, This Land of Ours, O Canada.”
The music is performed and sung by Duncan Cameron (fiddle), Bobby Prochaska (bass), Mark Stewartson (banjo) and Danny Williams (guitar). Aitchison also recruited family friends, the Ballagh Bunch (Devan, 17, Michael, 15, Paige, 13 and Matthew, to dance.
“They step dance and they just kick up a storm for us. They’re giving up sports and summer holidays to do this show.”
Aitchison says any audience will enjoy the show, but expects it will take a few performances for word of mouth to spread.
“Usually it opens slow; people don’t know what it’s all about. As soon as they go and see it, though, the word of mouth is so great that we end up selling out to the walls. Lots of people come back three or four times and bring their neighbours or kids. It really is a great patriotic Canadian piece.
“Every time we’ve done it, people ask us why it hasn’t been done before. They say the people from Ottawa should be here, and we should entertain the troops. It’s amazing how it gets people all fired up.”
Aitchison’s only regret?
“I’m just sorry that we didn’t do this sooner.”
For tickets, visit http://www.huroncountryplayhouse.com or call 519-238-6000.

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