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Notes from a Garage

With John Gardiner

A few words about Wallaceburg…….

Tuesday, March 30, 2010

I have lived in Wallaceburg for the past 25 years, moving here in 1985 and resolved to spend only about a year before moving on. Oh well, you know what they say about the best laid plans.

Last week, there was a photo essay in Canadian Geographic on my adopted hometown. It was developed by Brent Foster, a young man who grew up in Wallaceburg and is now making his way in the world as a photo journalist – the essay portion was written by Ray Robertson, who grew up in Chatham, but has lived in Toronto for the past 25 years.

Many people in Wallaceburg have been upset by the article, claiming that it portrays us as less than favourably, and that it paints a very negative picture of the community. E-mails flew last week as the article circulated, and at one point, Foster felt compelled to respond and try to explain his reasoning behind the approach he took to it. He can certainly not be faulted for seeing a fairly bleak and hopeless situation for Wallaceburg – after all, the community has changed dramatically since he was a boy here. Indeed, I have argued that Wallaceburg may have lost more jobs per capita over the last decade than any other community in Canada. We have lost over 8,000 jobs in a town of 11,000 people. Do the math….read ‘em and weep. In many ways, the community has had the life sucked out of it.

But the tone of the Canadian Geographic article was sort of like hitting someone when they’re already down. And what the article fails to capture is the incredibly resilient spirit of the people of Wallaceburg – the people who built this community, created a dazzling industrial base, and then watched it ravaged by economic and political forces far beyond their control – a victim of the phenomenon known as globalization.

But while Wallaceburg was abandoned by the two senior levels of government, and lost its own government through amalgamation, it is fighting back. Wallaceburg nationals – as they’re called by one of the town legends, Gary O’Flynn – are rallying. Several years ago, a grassroots organization called wallaceburg.ca started us on the road back. It led to the Wallaceburg Community Task Force, which just this past winter announced that two new industries are moving to town…..Other members of the community have rallied to form the Sydenham Cultural Action Team and are busy mobilizing the artistic and cultural community and the young people.

This community, that was portrayed as so bleak, can do amazing things. When the Haitian earthquake ravaged that country, a fundraising dinner at the Oak’s Inn attracted over 260 people and raised a whack of money for relief, then a week later over 400 sat down to dinner to honour the community’s sporting heroes and raise more money for charity. And don’t forget about the Hearty Soup Luncheon that also attracted over 400 Wallaceburgers and raised a record amount for the Heart and Stroke Foundation – it was a week later. No, Wallaceburg may have been down, but it is pulling itself up off the mat and getting its head together.

The real problem I had with Brent Foster and Ray Robertson’s take on my home community was the missed opportunity it represented. It was an opportunity to showcase some of the positive things that are happening and some of the great positives that already exist. The beauty of the river…..affordable housing…..a big indoor pool….a great education system….WAMBO….the Wallaceburg and District Museum and the Glass Gallery….Sydenham District Hospital….but most of all….the incredible spirit of the people who call Wallaceburg home.

I am intensely and fiercely proud of Wallaceburg….the Glasstown. The article in Canadian Geographic offended me because of its negative tone, and also because it was written by a guy who grew up in Chatham but has lived in Toronto for the past 25 years. Strange but true…..and ‘nough said….

Kind of got carried away in that piece but it was something I thought needed saying….let’s keep the ball rolling, folks. It’s in our court. And remember, “Hew to the line; let the chips fall where they may.”



John Gardiner is a 25-year-veteran of the community newspaper business, but he is also a prolific writer of moralistic short fiction he refers to as "emotional thoughtscapes" or "adult fables". Samples of his fiction can be found at:

He has also produced a noteworthy piece of humanist philosophy which can be found at: http://www.xs4all.nl/~aboiten/ad502.htm He welcomes comments on his work.