Emancipation Day

On July 31, 1833 the British Parliament abolished slavery throughout its empire. Today, July 31, has become known as Emancipation Day in many places around the world. As a boy growing up in Windsor Ontario in the '50's I watched the tens of thousands of black people ---- mostly American "negroes" --- gather on this weekend with their music, speeches, and church service. The name of Walter Perry came up over and over, especially the mouth-watering aromas of his annual open-pit barbecue and "secret sauce" which I never did sample.

Only years later did I learn that Walter Perry was the driving force in this celebration from the 1930's. And that the speakers in Windsor included Eleanor Roosevelt (1953) and a young southern preacher named Martin Luther King Jr. (1954)! I had been in the company of greatness.

So I have lived at both ends of the fabled Underground Railroad. Windsor (and Canada) was the first taste of freedom for the escaping slaves from the southern states. But because bounty hunters respected no borders, the railroad took them even further north. Owen Sound became the northern terminal. Local black heritage is reflected in place names like Negro Creek and Mud Flats.

Emancipation celebration in Owen Sound is the longest running in North America, 149 years so far. It's a low-key reunion and picnic that attracts all colours and creeds and makes the community proud. Bring on the secret sauce!

The Cairn and the Quilts

Owen Sound's Black History Cairn commemorates the flight of slaves and the signposts that directed them north. The window symbolizes both the bars of prison and the hope seen through a church window. The rocks in the base were donated by various southern states and towns. The floor shows quilt patterns that silently warned, informed and guided the fugitives (often illiterate) along the "underground railroad" to a new life in Canada. These quilts were hung on clotheslines or in windows, hidden in plain sight!

READ "Whose Side Are You On?" IN REVERSE ORDER

Blogspot is still causing problems for users like me. To get the sequence of the siding job in order, please read the three parts 1-2-3, instead of 3-2-1 as they have come up on the blog.

Whose Side Are You On? (Part 3 of 3)

We've never done a siding job but learning new skills is part of the fun up here. The key to the whole thing is to get the starter strip on the bottom exactly level, and matching the lines on all 3 adjoining sides. We had to undo that starter strip 3 times!

It's also like a jigsaw puzzle; you do the frame and then fill in the frame with different size pieces. Of course, there's inside corners, outside corners, J-channel, F-channel, drip edge, and ladders to deal with. But eventually you get more confident and the puzzle picture emerges. We did so much tramping on the grass that the final step was to till up the packed soil and lay down some sod (also a first for us). So, the job was really siding and sodding! Come on over for a closeup look ---- chestnut grain vinyl on clean white trim. Not bad for a couple of amateurs?

Whose Side Are You On? (Part 2 of 3)

The soffit and the siding are actually 2 separate jobs. The new vinyl stuff-with-the-venting-holes in it (soffit) goes into slotted channels and locks together all around the house. I can't resist adding recessed lighting too.

Then the house walls are prepared for new siding by adding a layer of chipboard because back in 1973 the house was clad in a weak soft fibre board called "ten test" that wouldn't hold the new siding nails. After that the house is wrapped like a Christams present in grey non-porous "house wrap" branded Typar. Pat also painted all the trim, original eavestroughs and fascia in a contemporary warm white.

Whose Side Are You On? (Part 1 of 3)

After all the other projects, we finally got around to replacing the original 1973 stained wood siding and soffit (the stuff with holes in it under the eaves, to ventilate the attic). Easy to choose bright white for the soffit, but Pat agonized over the choice of siding colour. In the meantime, the old boards had to be taken off. Here's the "Before"...

All Elvis, All the Time

More pix from the World's Biggest Elvis Fest in Collingwood this weekend....

Elvis Is Still In the Buildings

Took a Sunday morning drive over to Collingwood for 17th year of the World's Biggest Elvis Festival. Hundreds of professional ETA's (ElvisTribute Artists) and IHF's (Impersonators Having fun). There's Early Elvis, Vegas Elvis, gospel Elvis, military Elvis, kid Elvis, bloated Elvis, and many more categories. Four days of sing-offs, street posing, and tonight the serious judging for the champ. Of course all the merchandise is on the street --- including a video booth where you and 4 friends can be digitally inserted into an EP video. Whole lotta shakin' goin' on in that one.

The guest of honour was Edison Pena, the Chilean miner who spent those 69 days underground but kept his cool by singing Elvis songs. His first time in Canada, he kicked off the Festival with an emotional The Wonder of You. El Hombre Milagro, in blue suede shoes.

Huge crowds singing along. Peanut butter and banana sandwiches. Sequined jumpsuits. Nonstop Elvis muzak. Sideburns and karate kicks. The King lives!

Heat, Crowds, and All That Jazz (Part 2)

Just some more scenes from last night's opener of the Beaches Jazz Festival...

Heat, Crowds, and All That Jazz (Part 1)

We made a quick overnight trip to our old Beach neighbourhood in Toronto. It was the 23rd annual Beaches Jazz Festival, which I've seen grow from a small community fundraiser to today's gigantic commercial 10-day event. It's always voted Toronto's Best Free Outdoor Festival and 500,000 people seem to agree --- even though yesterday's first day was in record heat that challenged the bands and the melting ice cream cones.

The street is closed to traffic (even the streetcars are rerouted) and 50 bands set up in front of local businesses, playing sets that range from ska to Motown to Peruvian flutes --- and from Big Band to Greek solo guitar. Canada's best musicians (past present and future) love the exposure and closeness to music fans. Hurry on down, they're jammin' for 3 more days. It's fun, friendly, and where else can you check out a Ferrari while you tap your toes on streetcar tracks?

How Are They Hangin'?

Blogger's Note: Blogspot is still not working properly, so all these posts have less content than usual. Also, Followers have not been able to post comments. Keep trying.

Laundry is always dried on a clothesline up here. As part of this season's work, we put in a new clothesline pole (also known as a "tree trunk"). So the line is longer and stronger. But the argument rages on about how to hang the clothes. One of us was raised to be neat and organized in all things, so the hanging reflects that. That person hangs by colour, by type of clothing, by size, or by gender!! The other person is just satisfied to hang piece by piece as it comes out of the laundry basket. What's the big deal, right? Is there an inspector hiding in the bushes??

So have a look. Which type are you (if you were to use a clothesline)? How are they hangin' at your place? Or in this sweltering heat wave, may be I should say how are they drooping??