Shilo Vignettes:
Sometimes Shilo is like a dream - complete with little vignettes that have no beginning and then fade away. Here are ten of them:
1. The Jump Tower.
I remember Army Day. They would take you up in the jump tower in a seat and let you free fall for a few meters before the brakes on the seat took hold. I was too much of a wuss to go up and I regret it now. I remember watching everyone do it but I couldn't bring myself to join in. To this day, I remain afraid of heights. I remember they tied an one pound iron weight to a parachute about the size of a handkerchief and dropped it from the top of the tower. The weight was about the size of your forearm and it buried itself in the sand when it hit. That didn't make me feel any easier about going up in that chair.
2. Greg Leskiw.
It is funny about how things come around and go around. If you have not heard of Greg Leskiw, he was Shilo's famous son. He actually played with The Guess Who in the early 70's. My oldest boy is Greg's biggest fan and the two of them talk regularly. In fact, Greg's band, Swingsoniq, played at my son's wedding. Before the wedding, I hadn't seen Greg for some time - long before he became famous but I do remember him trying to put the moves on Julie when she and I were counting shooting stars behind my house. I related the incident to Greg recently. Of course, he denied it but we had a good laugh when I described the event. I remember Greg went to the big city (Winnipeg) to seek his fame and fortune. He returned a couple of times to play in a band at the YPA. I remember someone saying he played guitar like a cowboy. Of course that was before he became a prominent member of the Guess Who and played for the president at the White House. Greg continues to play with his band, Swingsoniq, and has a CD (and another in the works) which is an amazing CD. My wife says it is her favorite music.
3. Ivan Traill.
Mr. Traill was only one of many great teachers at PEPS (or PEHS) during my time. He and Miss Sheehan had a real influence on me in my choice of careers. It was Ivan who took Errol and turned him into the naturalist he is today. Remember the display Ivan set up at O'Kelly? Errol was his right-hand man. Once Errol and Ivan went to Saskatchewan and Alberta looking for dinosaur bones. They returned with all kinds of stuff, including a quartz crystal called a Herkimer diamond. Errol had me convinced it was a real industrial diamond but he had such a hard time keeping a straight face, I eventually figured it all out. Funny thing though, that practical joke made me go into Geology in university. I was fascinated by crystals and ended up with a minor in Geology, all thanks to Errol and Ivan. Errol probably has forgotten his joke, but I have not - there is still plenty of time to get even.
4. Miss Sheehan.
Is there anyone who has influenced as many students as our "Mary T"? I was not very good in math until she (and earlier, Mr. Magee) got hold of me. She made mathematics easy and enjoyable. It is now my hobby. In fact, I spend the first hour of each weekday teaching grade 12 pre-calculus math at a local school. Miss Sheehan never had discipline problems. Step out of line with her and first she clobbered you with her cutting wit followed by a withering glare, sending you in search of a place to hide. I remember Glenn Darling was the object of her "anger" one day. Glenn was going to argue with her but stopped short when she hit him with "Yes, Glenn,.... Darling (emphasis on Darling). ... What would you like to say?" She wore that sly smile of hers. Glenn, who was no slouch in the humour department, replied, "Nothing, sweetheart." They and the class both began laughing and the dispute ended peacefully. Such was the way of Mary T. She was golden.
5. My Renault Dauphine.
My first car was a Renault Dauphine with what was called a "Ferlec clutch". I don't remember exactly what that was, but I think it was some kind of electonic clutch so that the car was a half way between a standard and an automatic. There was a switch on the dashboard that allowed you to turn the clutch off (I can't remember why you would want to do that); however, there was no indicator to show when it was "on" or "off". If you went too slow, with the clutch turned off, the car would buck, stall, and stop dead. It was Remembrance Day, at 11:00AM, and there was a service on Royal infront of what was to become the Young People's Association building. I had a bunch of kids in the car with me, headed down Royal toward Sapper. When I saw the service, I slowed down just as I got to the turn by the Catholic church. Unfortunately, I had the clutch in the "off" position. Equally unfortunately, a dog chose that moment to run infront of the car. I slammed on the brakes. The car stalled and stopped - right on the dog's tail. His tail was pinned under the wheel and he was not happy. I was trying to get the car started, the dog was yelping, the kids in the car were laughing and the Remembrance Day service was all but ruined. We schlepped away, me and the kids pushing the car, the dog limping, with a somewhat bent tail between his legs.
Vignettes cont...