CURRENTS is the official newsletter of the Credit River PROBUS Club. It is published monthly and emailed to members to keep them abreast of club activities and to promote the club’s central objectives. Submissions are welcome as are new ideas and should be emailed to Lydia Koop, lydia04@rogers.com.
President’s Message
There was a time in this fair land when the railroad did not run In April 1962, the Bureau International des Expositions awarded the 1967 World Exhibition to Canada. By the time Expo ’67 opened, according to musician and author Dave Bidini’s Writing Gordon Lightfoot: The Man, the Music, and the World in 1972, “ in 1967, it was impossible to turn on the radio without hearing Canadian Railroad Trilogy.”
According to journalist Ted Barris, the CRT’s origin was linked to a meeting in 1966 between CBC producer Bob Jarvis and Prime Minister Lester Pearson about Canada’s centennial celebrations. They decided to incorporate the story of the CPR’s creation, at which point Jarvis suggested Gordon Lightfoot for the job.
According to the author Nicholas Jennings, “Jarvis told Lightfoot that he was looking for a big folk ballad that captured all the grandeur of Canada’s birth for a TV special celebrating the Lightfoot: I started with a ballad, reaching back to an old barbershop tune I used to do called “The Rose of Tralee.” I started listening to Bob Gibson’s “Civil War Trilogy” and decided to use his format—fast going in, slow in the middle, fast going out. And it came to me. Lightfoot mentions drawing inspiration from Bob Gibson’s Civil War Trilogy, a deeply American folk song, which is ironic since a great deal of Canadian nationalism during this period was focused on distinguishing Canadian identity from its American counterpart.
The interesting thing for us is how the song speaks about the goal and the result, and how it has modern applications. Fearful of American hegemony and colonial expansion rumours, Sir John A. MacDonald believed that a cross-country railroad was the ideal way to unite the country and protect against American expansionism. In our current political climate, we can clearly see the long-term benefits of this goal. When the last spike was driven in at 9:22am on November 7, 1885, Lightfoot’s Iron road runnin’ from the sea to the sea united Canada’s then 7 provinces and 2 territorial governments.
Perhaps that’s the goal of Probus. Worldwide, there are more than 4,000 Probus clubs, some 250 in Canada made up of over 35,000 members. And as the railway united our country, Probus unites us with other retirees in the community. As an added note, we are still interested in the magic of trains: see Events Director Brian Dixon’s May 29 trip to the Halton County Railway Museum. Listen here for Gordon Lightfoot’s Centennial Gift to Canada.
In the previous edition of Currents, the President’s Message talked about the potential benefits and joys of talking with strangers. Do you have a story about a time when you spoke with a stranger and came to realize the good feeling that came with that encounter? Perhaps you interacted in a store, a parking lot, a lobby, on a plane, or in a meeting. Somewhere, somehow, did you talk with a stranger and now have a story that you would like to share with your fellow Credit River Probians? Something that shows that we are all in this thing together?
Each month, if you would like to share, we will feature your story in this space. Maximum length: around 300 words, but shorter is fine too. And you can sign it or be anonymous. Send your story to me: Bob Warren bob045@sympatico.ca
Below is our next story from Judy and Peter Marshall
Peter was a member of a local gym and one day he was standing beside a guy on the treadmill. They struck up a conversation and started talking about cars. At the time we were looking for storage for our 1974 TR 6. This guy said “ I store cars in my heated garage for a few of my buddies” As a result, we stored our car with him every year for many years; we visited them every spring to get the car and every fall to return the car to storage. This one conversation began a wonderful friendship with Bruce and his wife Lori that has lasted until this day. Despite the fact we have sold the car, we have continued to be friends.
You can find this month’s complete issue and past editions of CURRENTS here.
Read your copy of CURRENTS or see the web to find out more about Activities, Events, and Travel in our club.
Direct comments about CURRENTS to Lydia Koop, lydia04@rogers.com. If you need to be sent another copy of CURRENTS please email crprobus@gmail.com.