HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Lucknow Sentinel, 2016-12-21, Page 11Bruce County History: Pinkerton - Glimpses past and present
Bob Johnston
Bruce County Historical
Society
The following poem was
quoted by Elwood Pinkerton
in an article he wrote for
Bruce County Historical
Society's 1972 yearbook. It
evokes nostalgic memories
of small town life years ago.
I Remember Pinkerton -
by Melville Johnson of Cali-
fornia, who spent his boy-
hood in the village and along
the river.
I remember Pinkerton
when I was a little boy,
where every season was
filled with a local joy:
Bob -sledding on the mill-
er's big hill; skating on the
pond behind the mill;
Exploring the bush on
homemade skis, returning
home with very sore knees;
Driving horses and carts,
cutters and sleighs, going
barefoot on the Queen's
birthdays;
Picking mushrooms and
sweet wild berries, grapes,
haws and puckery
chokecherries;
Spotting the first robin on
the hill, from the top of the
Town's old windmill;
Tasting maple syrup and
taffy pulls, picking wildflow-
ers by the armfulls;
Fishing and wishing with
every strike, for the biggest
bass, mullet or pike;
Swimming and punting
behind the dam, competing in
Scotch sports in tartan tam;
Finding lily pads and frogs
galore, shopping in the one
general store;
Watching the Calithumpi-
ans' parade, drinking apple
cider in the cool shade;
Attending barn -raising
bee events, auction sales
with their special contents;
Election returns that
brought together, neighbours
and friends in any weather;
Cheering our football
team's every whim, refreshing
with a dip at "men's swim";
Supporting "Harvest
Homes" and fall fairs, joining
in earnest Thanksgiving
prayers;
Playing our Hallowe'en
pranks each year, exciting
events for boys to cheer;
Hearing the crows caw
amidst Autumn leaves, and
sleighbells soon after thresh-
ing the sheaves.
Wednesday, December 21, 2016 • Lucknow Sentinel 11
Credit Bruce County Museum & Cultural Centre, Photo A2016.011
Pinkerton - B&I - Pinkerton General Store before 1918.
I remember Pinkerton, I As the wondrous place
remember Pinkerton now where I used to dream and
that I am old and gray, play.
Madison Violet releases holiday album `Sleigh Bells In The Snow'
Troy Patterson
Editor
Withhalf of the Madison Vio-
let duo hailing from Kincardine,
the band's new holiday album
is bound to appeal to a wide
variety of musical tastes.
Featuring such classics as Sil-
ver Bells,White Christmas and
Silent Night, Madison Violet's
'Sleigh Bells In The Snow' is a
"perfectly festive and surpris-
ingly exhilarating" album lean-
ing on the band's bread-and-
butter harmonies to guide
listeners through a collection of
holidayclassics.
The band has performed
many times at Kincardine
events, like the Scottish Fes-
tival and Highland Games,
and Kincardine Summer
Music Festival.
The album released in
November through Fontana
North.Kincardine's Brenley
MacEachem and partner Lisa
Maclsaac have succeeded at
adding a dash of originality,
which produces a sound that
transcends generations.
"The album's reductive
simplified style and offbeat
rhythmic patterns offer their
current audience brand new
insight into their favourite
holiday melodies; while giv-
ing new fans a taste of the
special magic that lives
inside every Madison Vio-
let production," the band's
media release reads. "You'll
hear these well -sung lyrics in
a new way, with new light."
The 10 song collection is a
"wildly refreshing" invitation
to enjoy traditional clas-
sics, including Frosty the
Snowman (featuring Ron
Sexsmith) and Blue Christ-
mas, most famously per-
formed by Elvis Presley, as
they are instantly and skill-
fully transformed into mini-
malist, acoustic cheer.
The unvarnished vocal har-
monies lull and delight listen-
ers from one to ninety-two.
Sleigh Bells In The Snow
Tracklisting
Have Yourself A Merry Lit-
tle Christmas, Big Bulbs, Sil-
ver Bells, Deck The Halls,
White Christmas, The Christ-
mas Song, Jingle Bells, Frosty
The Snowman (featuring
Ron Sexsmith), Blue Christ-
mas, and Silent Night.
The album is available at
Finchers in Kincardine, as
well as online.
Kincardine News Q&A
with Kincardine -native
Brenley McEachern of
Madison Violet
Q. Did winter in Kincar-
dine/Bruce County come to
mind when you were writing/
composing for this album?
A. I think it would be
impossible for me to remi-
nisce about Christmas with-
out remembering the size of
the snowdrifts in Kincardine
which as a child, seemed
insurmountable. You could
always count on Lake Huron
to build a blinding blizzard on
Christmas Eve ready to blow a
mighty course across the open
fields towards the highway,
closing down 21 and 9. Winter
in Bruce County for me was
my frozen feet in skidoo boots,
crunching through powdered
snow, and the feeling of my
ears being on fire where my
scarf could never reach. You'd
think it would be difficult to
recall these childhood memo-
ries in the thick heat of July in
the big smoke of Toronto, but
that's the power of Bruce
County winters.
Q. Being it's a holiday/
Christmas album, what do
you hope people get out of
the music you've created?
A. Brenda Lee's 'Rocking
Around The Christmas Tree'
record had a permanent place
in the 8 track slot on our stereo
when I was growing up. My
favourite thing about Christmas
was hearing that record roar
through our green and red rib-
boned house for weeks. I can
only hope our Christmas record
will resonate in the same way
Brenda Lee's album did with
me. I hope people will put
'Sleigh Bells In The Snow' on
while they decorate the tree,
open presents and while they're
fighting over turkey dinner
about who gets the wishbone.
Q. Can you share a funny/
happy story about winter in
our area for readers? Maybe
it's something in relation to
the music, or maybe it's just
a good memory of the area?
A. Wow, where do I start.
Honestly, I have so many won-
derful memories about growing
up on Lake Huron. I left Kincar-
dine for college when I was 17,
but I always came home on the
weekends and of course for
Christmas vacation. I remem-
ber that first year of college
coming home on Christmas
Eve and meeting me at the side
door to our house was my
father askingif Iwanted to go to
Cape Breton with him to see
grandma. My dad was missing
his mom and my heart
exploded. We jumped in the car
and raced downtown to Para-
dise Travel to book our flights
from Toronto to Halifax that
evening.
I remember sitting in the
travel agency, looking out the
window and seeing the first of
the snowflakes. Back at home
in my bedroom while repack-
ing
epacking my suitcase for the trip, I
heard the engine coughing and
my dad trying repeatedly to
turn the ignition over in the
driveway. I remember looking
down from my window at my
dad, who now had the hood up,
frantically trying to fix the issue
as time was of the essence. I
also noticed his cap and shoul-
ders were covered in fresh
fallen snow. Well, the old Ford
refused to start, so off we went
on foot to Pierson's used car lot
where my dad bought an old
junker. A brown Chevy sedan.
By the time we hit Bervie,
the snow was coming down
in blankets and by the time
we reached the Walkerton
cutoff to Mildmay, it was
blowing at us in a horizontal
blur. My dad thought it was a
better idea if I drove, so he
could hang his head out the
passenger side and keep his
focus on the shoulder. The
yellow line was indistin-
guishable in the slick snow
streaked pavement, so all I
could do was stare straight
ahead and stay the course.
Luckily my father taught me
how to drive in a snow storm
when I was 15, so I already
knew never to follow the red
lights in front of me, because
there was always a good
chance those tail lights were
heading straight into the
ditch. To add icing to this big
fat cake of snow, the new
Chevy wouldn't blow any-
thing you'd actually call heat,
so we nearly froze to death
all the way to Toronto.
The airplane felt like a safe
haven compared to the hell
we'd just been through, but
we still had to get from Hali-
fax to Cape Breton. Running
way over budget now with
the purchase of the car, my
dad opted to get our new
rental from Rent -a -Wreck.
Big mistake. Another three-
hour drive in yet another
Chevy with another broken
heater, one good headlight
and one that slowly burned
out along the Trans Canada
highway.
As fate would have it, we
arrived in Nova Scotia in the
middle of another snow
squall and the thickening
darkness, made it even
harder to drive. I remember
stopping at The Big Stop for a
SCOFF °ELLS. ??1 Tl sow
Troy Patterson/Editor
Madison Violet's new holiday album 'Sleigh Bells In The Snow'
is now available. Half of the duo, Brenley McEachern, hails from
Kincardine. She's seen on the left in the album art with partner
Lisa Maclsaac.
quick bite and while my dad
was paying, I headed out to
scrape the snow from the
windshield. By the time I
had one side clean and
moved to other side, you
couldn't see out the first
side. Some how we made it
to Cape Breton in time for a
nightcap with my grandma.
We woke up on Christmas
morning in Cape Breton,
one mile down the road from
Lisa's home. We didn't meet
until many years later.
For more information on
the band and album visit
www.madisonviolet.com
Wishing you all the
trimmings of a
beautiful season.
Thank you for making
our year sparkle
with your visits!
Brian & Karen
Murray
Langside Tractor
& Auto Clinic
406 Langside St., Lucknow
(519) 528-2312