The Citizen, 2017-07-20, Page 7NMI
THE CITIZEN, THURSDAY, JULY 20, 2017. PAGE 7.
East Wawanosh native contributes to '150 Stories'
Telling his story
Tom CuII was back in his home community of East
Wawanosh over the Canada Day weekend to help
celebrate the township's sesquicentennial anniversary. Cull,
who is the poet laureate for London, read his 150 Stories
submission, a reflection on growing up in East Wawanosh,
for those in attendance at the event's opening ceremonies.
(Denny Scott photo)
By Shawn Loughlin
The Citizen
Tom Cull, an East Wawanosh
native, is one of 150 Ontarians who
told their stories as part of 150
Stories, a special book compiled by
the office of the Lieutenant
Governor of Ontario to help mark
Canada's sesquicentennial this year.
Cull is a professor of creative
writing at the University of Western
Ontario, where he also serves as the
Poet Laureate for the City of
London. His recollection in the book
is number 34 and his story is told
alongside Ontarians like Gordon
Lightfoot, Bobby Orr and Roberta
Bondar, Canadian gold medalists
Penny Oleksiak and Donovan Bailey
and bestselling author Joseph
Boyden.
Cull's story recalls memories of
bush parties, the smell of fresh -cut
hay and listening to the radio at the
family's kitchen table in the winter,
hoping to hear that classes at East
Wawanosh Public School had been
cancelled for the day.
The writer also questions the
naming of his home township in his
piece, saying that as a youth
"Wawanosh" meant his township.
He had no idea that it referred to a
man with the first name of Joshua
who was an "Ojibwa Chief... who
fought for the Crown in the War of
1812"
In an interview with The Citizen,
Cull said that when he was first
contacted about contributing to the
project, it only took him a day or two
to finalize his submission.
Cull said he gave the piece to his
partner, Miriam Love, also a writer,
who he calls his "first and best"
editor and he sent it off to those
compiling the book. He had no idea
whether his piece would even be
selected for publication.
The book features pieces of
writing from 150 Ontarians, asking
them to reflect on their idea of home
in association with growing up in
Ontario. Cull said those putting the
book together asked that the
reflections be 150 words or less.
When Cull was asked to contribute
a piece for the book, he said that the
key word he honed in on was
"home", which has been a running
theme in much of his poetry over the
years.
In light of Canada celebrating its
150th anniversary, Cull said, he
began reflecting on the province's
First Nations communities and the
history in that community, knowing
that it goes much farther back than
150 years.
Cull said that the history of
Canada's First Nations
communities, for him, wasn't taught
in schools, which he felt was a
failing of the country's education
system. The history of First Nations
peoples, he said, is important for all
Canadians to know, especially in a
time when the Truth and
Reconciliation Committee and its
work is such a prominent part of the
country's narrative in 2017.
"We need to know more about
that," Cull said. "That's why I
wanted to get a more comprehensive
understanding of where I came
from."
Cull said that the knowledge of the
land on which Huron County now
sits and the stewards of that land
reach back much further than 150
years and it's important that young
residents understand that.
He said that while his story, which
is accompanied by a photograph of
Auburn's Ball's Bridge in the winter
taken by Central Huron Secondary
School teacher Conrad Kuiper, is the
book's only one from Huron County,
it shouldn't be viewed as speaking
for the region.
Cull took a very personal
approach to writing his piece and he
said it likely doesn't represent the
experiences of all Huron County
residents growing up in the area.
Like any writer, however, if his piece
does connect with people and
readers can relate to some of the
experiences he's recounted, he says
that would be great.
Speaking on the subject of home,
Cull said that this summer has
represented somewhat of a
homecoming for him and his family
thanks to a number of marquee
events throughout the community.
Cull was in Belgrave just a few
weeks ago to be part of the opening
ceremonies for the East Wawanosh
150th anniversary. He read his 150
Stories piece to those in attendance
and recounted memories of growing
up on Lot 33, Concession 8 of East
Wawanosh Township years ago.
He said he has an important and
personal relationship with returning
for the anniversary as it was his
Continued on page 8
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