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Notes from a Garage

With John Gardiner

Across Chatham-Kent, a literary tour and the Dresden Raceway

Tuesday, May 13, 2003

I've really been on the run over the last week or so. This past Saturday was a particularly busy day with stops in Thamesville, Ridgetown and Chatham before we arrived back home for a gathering of the Glass Onion Folk Club at Roxxy Tap and Grill in Wallaceburg. It was a busy and hectic day, but it was one that left me feeling okay. I received a warm reception at every event I attended and must again offer thanks for the wonderfully accommodating people of Chatham-Kent. I mean, usually, because I'm fairly new in the local media, I drop in on people unannounced. I mean, it's like, "Hi there, I'm John Gardiner and I'm with a new on-line Chatham-Kent newspaper called cktimes.ca. I was wondering if I could do a story and take a photo or two of your wonderful event." And a huge smile breaks out in almost every case and out comes my trusty steno pad and I'm off and running. Now, I know this ain't great journalism, but it is great "community" journalism – helping to promote the many great causes and organizations in our community and to help them gain the recognition they deserve. I don't figure I can move mountains in my lifetime, but I can maybe help out a few local people and that would be great. Get in touch with me if I can help your group or organization gain a little exposure throughout the Chatham-Kent market. I'm always on the look-out for new sources of stories and more contacts in the community. Thanks for your help so far.

I must tell you that speaking of community events, I've got a great story in this week's cktimes about a really great one in Thamesville over the weekend. They had a Robertson Davies literary walking tour of the village and then a supper at one of the churches in town. This was an event organized by Dr. Kara Smith of the University of Windsor and celebrated the fact that Robertson Davies was born and spent his early life in Thamesville and set one of his most popular novels, Fifth Business, in a fictitious version of the village. Anyway, this first event was completely sold out and if you want to read a cool account of the day, check out Lisa Gilbert's "Cultural Musings on Chatham-Kent" in this week's cktimes. Sounds like the Gilberts, Jim and Lisa, who are perhaps this community's most passionate campaigners for local arts and culture, had a great time attending the literary tour. And I think they're right on the money when they suggest that Chatham-Kent could reap great economic benefit from investing more heavily in the arts, culture and heritage. Which brings me back to the Capitol Theatre – along with Lisa Gilbert's Cultural Musings. Man, I think our local council should have supported the theatre in a more proactive manner. Interest in the arts is mushrooming across North America and we should be cashing in. One of the busiest thoroughfares on the continent passes right by our doorstep. Why do we want only manufacturing plants to locate here? Why not create diversity in the local economy by investing in the arts.

Which brings me to Saturday night's Glass Onion Folk Club gathering at Roxxy Tap and Grill in Wallaceburg. It was a great event, not a huge crowd, but singer/songwriter Richard Knechtel gave a great performance and had everyone smiling. But I'm really talking about the Glass Onion here. I've been operating the Glass Onion for about 10 years on behalf of the Wallaceburg and District Council for the Arts as one of the things we do in the community. Now, we're a small enterprise and we don't attract large crowds to most of our events. But over the last few years, I've had a who's who of Canadian blues talent in Wallaceburg and we've been rewarded by drawing blues fans from as far away as Detroit and London. And when these people come to Wallaceburg for one of our shows, they usually eat dinner here and might even stay the night. I know it's not a huge boost to the local economy, but every little bit helps, and this is only a tiny example of how the arts can indeed boost a local economy. Think what a huge project like the Capitol Theatre could do. Anyway, enough of this harping about the Capitol Theatre. You know how I stand. I haven't stated it quite as strongly as Lisa Gilbert in Cultural Musings, but I certainly feel the same way.

It'll be great news for the whole community of Chatham-Kent if International Truck and Engine can be enticed to stay in Chatham. I'm really rooting for the negotiators and hoping things will work out. I'll not really be covering the story in cktimes because the other media will be all over it and will keep you informed, but my heart's in the story anyway.

Gary Patterson is writing about the opening of Dresden Raceway on this coming holiday Monday in That's Sports this week. Check it out if you get the chance. The only problem I have with the Raceway and the Slots is that the town of Dresden should reap more direct benefit from both of them. My old hometown of Hanover has the same gambling set-up, but hasn't been amalgamated – the result is that it doesn't have to share the gambling windfall with anyone and is flush with cash. Doesn't Dresden wish for the same?

Anyway, time to go for another week. Don't forget to stay positive and get involved in your community.

Take care, 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.