http://www.fepl.ca/localhistory/files/original/92b9e4e16da64bf7d564f7c2cf7d85d9.pdf bcf8041eca0613755ffff78781114c79 PDF Text Text D iana Matth e ws Int e r v iewing C h r is W ren. ON A p r il 10th I we nt to t h e h o m e of C h r is W ren At 3 6 C o ncession R o a d , F o rt E r ie . The int e r v ie w started a t 2:00 p . m . a n d last ed f o r 1 hou r a n d 1 5 m inutes. D.M: Hi C h r is, can you g ive m e y o u r full n ame ? C.R: C h r ist ophe r Tho m as W r e n . D.M: C.R: H o w long h a v e you l i v e d in F o rt E r i e ? , S in c e 1929. D.M: H o w old a r e you n o w ? C.R: S e venty-six . D.M: Iv ' e been t o l d you know q u it e a b it a bout t h e P eace B r idge, what can you tell m e about it ? C.R: W e l l , I re m e m be r wh e n t h e y opened the b r idge , I w as going to sch ool in H a m ilt on and I was picked in a sch o o l ch o i r t o sing for the P r ince of W ales as h e came d o wn t o open it . He and t he m oto rcade went t h r ough H a m ilt o n and I was o n e of the t wo st u de nts f r om the sch ool who sang in the ch o i r . T o day I c a n ' t sing a not e , b u t in t q ose days I could ! D.M: W e re you t h ere wh e n it was be ing b u ilt ? C.R: N o , I was in H a m ilto n . The b r idge was bu ilt a n d .co m pleted before I ca me t o F o rt E r ie . W h e n I came t o F o rt E r ie the P e a ce B r idge was the only employer t h at was . . . . . . had anybody w o r k ing a n d that was the C ust o m s a n d Imm ig r at ion and the b r idge maintenan ce . The railr oads we re flat , t h e t o w n w as in a complete depress i o n , it h a d gone bank r u pt . There w as n o Welfa r e , t h e r e was no R e l ief a n d that w as tough t imes . We haven't got anywh e r e near that n o w , nowh e r e nea r . Many and many a day I' d go out o n calls, I wo r k e d for the P o w e r C o m pany . I' d go into a h ouse and t h e r e ' d be a f a m ily t h e r e , the ch il d r e n wou ld have a potat o and a glass of wat er f o r t h e i r breakfast . The mother a n d fat h e r , a young couple, w o u l d be t e a r ing t h e i r h ai r out , t h e y d idn't k n o w w h at to do. E v e r y b o d y l o s t t h e i r h o m es, m o rtgages, t a x e s , b ut n ob ody cla imed the m , so they l i v e d in t he m . There was no way t h e y cou ld put them o ut , they h a d n o place t o g o . Invar iably I' d have . . . . .! w ould buy g r o c e r ies wh e n I we nt •llO . a h ome and saw t h e con d it ions, and I had a boss w h o was W . D . B r o w n , H e was m a n a g ing a t t h e P o we r C o m pany and I' d go in and t e l l h i m t h e situation I' d r u n into and he'd say W h at d i d y o u do about it ? W e l l I sa i d I w e n t down t o the groce r y st ore a n d had t h e g r o c e r t ake them u p five d ollars w o r t h o f g r oce r ies a n d not tell t h e m w h e r e it came f r o m . H e ' d r e ach i n h is p ocket and h a n d me t w o - f ifty a n d that happened f o u r o r five t i m es a week all d u r ing the wint e r o f 1929. A s I say t h e Cu;t o m s Officers 1 �in those days were get t ing 8 0 dollars a month, that was t h e i r pay . They w e re wo r k i n g , the Im m igration was working a n d t h e P eace B r idge was o p e rat in g . O t h e r than t h at I don't t h i n k the re was anyth ing m o v ing in F o rt ( E r ie . They o wned coal b ins because there was no heat the way it is n o w . They heat e d with c o a l f u rnaces and c o a l st oves . S o m e of t h e m owed a s m uch a s 8 0 0 d o l l a r s f o r coa l . Mf o r d e rs w e r e back in th ose d a y s if i t was a l ittle j o b to cha r ge a dollar and if it was a big j o b , t wo dollars. B ut if I d id n't th ink they could pay for it , not t o cha r g e t h e m at all. S o t h e r e w a s very v e r y few ch a r ges t h at I m a d e d u r ing 1929 a n d 1930. The wh ole t o wn was co m pletely flat , complet ely. Nobody k n e w what t o do. The O nt a r io G ov e r n m ent gave the t o wn so m uch a month to k e e p it g o ing . They h a d n o m oney a t all . T h e y couldn't p a y out no W e lfare , t h e y h a d no R e l i e f , they had no w a y t o get anyth i n g. The P o w e r C o m pany a n d t h e G as C o m pa n y w e r e wo r k i n g because w e h a d to sup ply elect r icity a n d t h e y had t o supply gas. Other t h a n th at t h is t o wn was a complete r a ilroad t o wn . The wh ole t o wn depe n d e d on t h e r a i l r oa d , and it was flat . D.M: W h e n d i d t h e railroad st op c o m ing t h r ough F o rt E r ie ? C.R: Well, it's st ill going t h r ough F o rt E r ie but it's . . . . . . There's no passe n ge r st ation now. I don't k n o w . I h a ven't ha u le d that u p , it's been years a n d ( y e a rs s ince t h e y took both t h e C . N . R . and t h e T . H .&B . st at ion out . They h a d the C . N . R . on one side of the t r acks and the C ana d ia n P acific o r the T . H . &B . on the oth e r side of t h e t r acks . There was not h ing do ing at all o n the railroa d . T h e t r a ins we ren't m o ving, not a th ing . D.M: What d i d you do for e nt e rt a in m e nt ? C.R: T h e r e wasn't m u ch you "�''1J.:�. d o . Y ou d 'e go to B u ffalo . That was the only p lace ,y. o u could g o . They h a d · a few d ances around and th ings like that , soeials w ith t h e L ions C l u b . They we r e the p r e d o m inant club i n F o rt E r ie at that t i m e . We fo r m e d t h e J unior Ch a m b e r of C omme rce back in th ose daysand I was appoint e d on a co m m it e e to r e b u il d the a r e n a . The old a r e na had cav e d in with a snowstor m that wint e r , a n d we st arted out t o get i t rebu ilt a n d i t was a j o b ! I open e d m y m o u t h and s a i d so meth ing a n d so th e y appointed m e t h e cha i r m an o f the arena co m m it e e . F o rt u nat ely I h a d a . . . . . The v ice p r esident of the com m it e e of N iagra F alls was John L a wson wh o o wned the N ia gra Falls J unior F lyers. H e was q u it e int e r est e d i n h ockey a n d h e t o l d m e t o use a l l t h e t i m e I want e d t o g e t t h e a r e n a g o in g , and we had one a wful j o b . I int e r v iewed I guess f ive o r six p e o p l e ( i n F o rt E r ie , m anagers o f f i r ms, t o a s k t h e m t o take o v e r cha ir m ansh ip 2 �of the arena co m m it e e a n d we cou l d n ' t get a n ybo d y . F inally it was suggest e d t hat ( l g o t o W alter D e itch e r who k new aircraft a n d he t o o k i t h o o k , line a n d sinke r . He was the cha i r m an of the co m m ite e . I spent t h r e e solid m o n t h s i n h is office e v e r y day f r o m n ine t o f ive o r g a n iz ing and gett ing t h e th ing g o in g . W e r a ised enough . . . . . We r a is e d quit e a bit of m o n e y but we d idn't h a ve enough . T h e super int e n d e nt o f H o rt o n S t e e l , Mc Mu rt r ie , was president o f t h e L ions Club a n d h e got toget h e r the cohorts and h e was able to get the t o wn to put so m uch m on e y in a d ebe nt u r e and they wou l d guarantee i t . W ith h is help we we r e able to get the bu ild ing u p and got t he bu ilding reconst r uct e d , t h at was t h e f irst arena that was bu ilt . When we bu ilt it , it was a t in sh ell m a d e by a co m pa n y that bu ilds st eel bu ild ings a n d it was guarant e e d to st and winds up to 10 0 m . p . h . F o r so m e reason or oth e r t h e y co nde m ne d i t a ft e r a f e w y e a r s and h a d t o rebu ild anot h e r o n e . B ut that f irst one . . . . . . W h e n we got t h e a r ena bu ilt , we run out of m oney befo r e w e h a d any l ights i n it . I p u t t h e l ights i n t h e build ing a s a donat ion t o the m . I th ink i t cost m e a r o u n d 18 0 0 dollars t o p u t the l ights in a t t h e t i m e , and th e y h a d n o m o ney t o pay me s o t h at was m y do nat ion t o t h e a r e n a t o g e t i t going . W e h a d m a n y m any e v e nts in that a r e n a . W e put o n a indust r ia l sh o w in t h e r e and we had people f r o m Ottawa co m e d o wn ( h e r e and t o l d us t h at t h e y n e ve r sa w anyth ing l ike it . We had S t r o ng Cobb A r ner in t own at t h at t i me a n d they w e r e making pills a n d t h e y ca m e u p there and set u p m ach inery a n d m a de cand ies for t h e k ids, pour ing the m out by the bush el l o a d . W e had very good success with that arena . I r e m e mber t h e ch a p th a t m anaged it , we m e t , L o u ie Ziff was the mayor a t the t i m e . W e met in h is of f ice a n d a fe l l o w n a m e of Zieg S m it h h e w a s a r a d io a n nouncer a t W G R and h e l i v e d at E r ie B e ach . H e ca m e d o wn w ith a proposit ion t h at h e ' d m anage the a r e n a . He wou l d n ' t take any m o n e y unt il t h e y cle a r e d t e n t h ousand d o l l a r s ove r t o p of all e x penses. A n d wh e n t h e y g o t t o t wenty thousa n d , h e ' d get f i ft y pe rcent . N o w th is was t wenty p e rcent clea r p r o f it, and then he'd get up to seventy pe rcent if he got a r ou n d th irty th ousa n d . Well we all l o oked at h i m a n d we had t o g ive h i m the j ob because we couldn't see h o w he's gon n a clear t e n thousand dollars o v e r paying o f f t h e debent u r e the t o w n had quoted for t h e th ing, t h e o p e r at ing e x pe nses and t h at . B ut h e was up in the fifty pe rcent br acket . H e really m ade t h at th ing go . We h a d teams co m ing f r o m all over the Unit e d States, N o rth Car o l i n a , ca m e u p here t o p r ac t ice h e r e . ( F o rt E r ie was pack e d , all t h e The m ot els, t he Httel hotels a n d that were packe d for the t r a i n in g p e r iod . H e r e ally m a d e t h at arena g o . 3 �D.M: C.R: ( Is it s t il l s t a n d ing ? N o , that's w h e re t h e p r e s e n t arena is now . They conde m n e d t he build ing a n d t h e t o w n t h e n w a s f inancially able to rebu ild anot h e r a r e n a . I d o n ' t knows t h a t they g o t any be t t e r , w e ha d t he s a me ice s e r v ice that they have today a n d they just p u t a n e w bu ilding a r o u n d it. W e only bu ilt a t in she ll. B u t it got us b y a n d w e h a d v e r y v e r y g o o d s u c c e s s w ith i t . W e paid the t o w n back, paid t h e debe n t u r e off and got everyth ing clear w it h in t h r e e yea r s . S o m eth ing t h at v e r y f e w people k n o w a n d I w as f o r t u n a t e t h a t I wo rked fo r t h e P ow e r C o m pany and m y boss t old m e t o forget the Power Co m pany a n d get the a r e n a buil t , and as I say I s pent e v e r y day up there, We ' d :g0� d o w n, w e ' d h a v e o u r lunch in t he execut ive d in ing roo m at 12o' clock and back up there ' t il five . N ine o ' c lock t h e next m o r n ing . I w a s t he r three s o l id m onths . I remember s a y i ng t o W alter D ie t c h e r one day, W alter , what d o you do h e r e ? What d o you m e an ? I said w e l l the r e ' s a ' d oor c o m ing f r o m t h e General Office in ther e , h e r e ' s the door I c o m e in, t he front doo r , I sa id n o w I d o n ' t s e e a soul i n here b u t you a n d I a l l d a y long. Y o u don't s ig n a pape r , you don' t do anyth ing. Oh, he s a i d , t h is pli a ce runs itself.':-•�­ H e w a s so e n t h u s ia s t ic abou t it he w a s able to raise qu i t e a bit of m oney. W h e n w e ca m e t o t i m e of s e t t ing a q u ota what w e w e r e gonna d o , I said ( t o m y bos s , w h a t ' l l w e do , h o w w ill w e s t a r t th is ? W e l l he said I'll s t a r t it r o l l ing f o r you . We have s o m any e m ployees h e r e a n d I ' l l donate t h r e e t h ousand dolla r s . N o w if w e ' ve got t h i r t y e m ploye e s , t h a t s a h u n d r e d dolla r s a p iece. N o w w e s e t that as a standard for t h e r e s t of t h e indust ry, wh ich we t r ie d t o g e t out o f all the indus t r y that w e w e n t a r o u n d to. W e had s o m e very sport m in d e d pe ople t h e n , Geo rge S t ra t on of t he Me ntholaturn a n d Mc Mu r t r ie at H o r t o n S teel and it was W a l t e r D ie t c h e r at the F leet A ir c raft, J o h n Lawson at o u r o w n co m pany and t h rough t he i r efforts w e r e ally got t h e th ing g o i n g . Now I re m e mber t h a t you w e r e talk ing about t h e P eace B r idge , that th ing w a s bu ilt like a f ort when it was first built , t h e t o w e r s , t h e c o n c r e t e t o w e r s all a r ound it , I r e m e mbe r that when I f i r s t c a m e t o t o w n , bu t it s e e m e d t h a t eve r y f e w y e a r s t h e y had to m ake s o m e changes and I w as in on t he reno vation of about t h r e e different t i m e s t h a t t h e y r e done a l l t h e buildings a n d rew i r e d t he place and th ose contrac t o r s u s e d to r u n a n y w h e r e f r o m 700 thousand t o a m illion dollars f o r t h e genera l c o n t racts w h e n t h e y m a d e t h e i r chang e s . T he P e a c e B r idge alw ays m ade m o ne y ! That w a s an a s s e t , g ood bu siness . Mr. B a y e r in B u ffalo w a s the ( m a n that financed it and t he u n der s t s t an d ing w a s that at the e n d of 70 y e a r s he w ould hand it o v e r to G o v e r n m e nt s , f r e e. No s t r ings at tached t o it , w h ich h e did. The C an a d ia n G o v e r n m e n t ha s one s ide and the A m e r i c a n 4 �Gove r n m ent has t h e o t h e r s i d e . Th e A m e r ican G o v e r n m en t get their money , they s e n d it back to the city of Bu ffalo a n d they have their say on that e n d and t he C anad ian s id e , F o r t Erie, don't get ( n o mone y . They g e t so much in lieu of taxes . The F e d e r a l G o v e r n m e nt takes it all anct gives F o r t E r ie peanu t s out of i t . Why they don't g ive the s a m e th ing in F o r t E r ie as they do in B u ffalo I don' t kno w . I t ' s been a v e r y v e r y good t h ing for F o rt E r i e , it's s u p p l ied them a n awful lot o f wo r k , a n a w ful lot of work, both Cus t o m s , I m m igrat ion a n d t r ucke r s . I th ink w e ' re the second port next t o D e t r o it Cl$ ifar as t r affic is conce r n e d . D.M: Y ou said you h a d been to E r ie Beach , can you t e ll P1e s o m e t h ing abo u t that ? C.R: E r ie Beach ? I vaguely . . . . . I c a m e d o w n t w o or t h r e e t i m e s f rorl H amilton and went up to E r ie Beach . It was an amu se m e n t p a r k , s imilar t o C r y s tal B e ach, a n d when t he o w n e r d i e d , I forget w h a t h i s n a m e w a s n o w . . . . . B a r d o l . When B a r dol died h is s i s t e r - in- law ran the bu s in e s s and the boys who o w n e d Cry stal Beach bough t t h em out and took e v e r y t h ing that w a s any good up to C r y s t al B e ach . They only left the foundations and t he railroad , F o r t E r ie S nake ( H ill and P ac i f i c , r e m e mbe r that ? R u n n ing u p along the r ive rf ron t h a d an engine e r and a f i r ema n and he 'd st oke u p t he f i r e and go back and h e was the c o n d u ct o r ! It had three l it t le cars on it and it run f r o m the fe r r y u p to E r ie Be ach . When t he P e ace B r idge come t h r ou gh that knocked that f or a loop because t he Peace B r idge w e n t r ight over t h e railroa d and old W . F . W ilson w a s one of the p r i m e fact o r s in g e t t ing t h e br idge t h r ough as far a s t h e Canad ian end was conce r n e d , h e was a very s t rong L ibe ral and the L ibe rals were in po w e r at t h a t t ime and he was w o r k ing at the C an a d ian end o f it . That was R a y Wilsons fat h e r , the law)er that just recently d i e d . A n d h e h a d . . . . . There w a s three C us t o m s B r okers in F o r t E r ie, W . F . W ilson, S m e aton w a s t he other one and Du ke Mcin t y r e . Today there's about a hundred o f 'em out the re! Th e r e w e re just t he three o f th e m . W . F . W il s o n built that big bu ilding u p there, h e w a s t he f ir s t one . They m o r e o r l ess w o rked o u t of t h e i r home s o r l it t le s h a c k s down on t h e Bouleva r d , that's w h e r e they had t h e i r office s , i f y o u could call ' e m offices a n d they u h . . . . . W .F. built t h i s build ing ( t h a t ' s up there today and h e w a s one o f the o r igina l s , t he only o r iginal t h a t ' s left . D.M: D o you reme mber w hen the. park clos e d ? 5 �C.R: N o , the park was c l o s e d w h e n I came to F o r t E r ie . I ha d c a m e f r o m H a m il t o n . In those days it w a s an awful long t r i p to c o m e f r o m H a m i lton ( t o F o rt E r ie . B y t h e t i m e you drove f r o m H a m ilton t o Fort E r ie , y o u had abou t t w o h o u r s i n t h e park and you w e n t back h o m e again because it took s ix o r seven hours t o m ake the t r ip from h e r e t o H a m ilton . There w a s n o h igh w ay s , it w as all stone r oads a n d t h e c a r s were lucky, if you had a good c a r you c o u l d ma ke t h e h ills a n d get u p and do w n and get t h is far ! Th e r e was very f e w ca rs o n the roads in those days , you d id n ' t have t o w o r r y abou t t r affic, . a l l you had t o worry about w a s h o r s e s , h o r s e and bugg i e s , they' d r e a r up when a car c o m e along. B u t uh .. . . . I re m e mber going up t h e r e , as I say we only spent a couple of h o u r s there and then w e h e a d e d back for h o m e . T h e y h a d a f e r r i s w h e e l a n d t h e f i g u r e e. ight and a few th ings and they ha d a big dance hall u p there a n d that sat out t h e r e , out in the lak e . T he foundat ions for that a re stil l cut in the lake . B u t uh . . . . it was n ' t do ing m uch bu siness at that t ime , when t h e P eace bridge come over, they' d c o m e o v e r t he b r idge and go u p t o C r ystal Beach . O t h erwise the pe ople usffi c o m e over on t h e fe r r y and get on t h e t ra in and go up t h e r e , ( t h e r e w a s n o c a r s , p e o p l e d i d n ' t h a v e aut o m obiles b a c k in t h o s e days . I was gonna say that The O l d F o rt is s o m ething that should be looked int o . I d o n ' t k n o w w h y it hasn't been thought of. I t ' s t he o n l y A m e r ican F o r t in the B r it ish Emp ire . I t ' s not no longer t h e B r it ish E m p ir e b u t in those days it w a s and when the w a r finished t h e B r it ish gave t h e A m e r icans F o r t N iagra, the A m e r icans give t h e C anadians F o r t E r ie . N o w they u h . . . . The B r it ish attacked Fo r t E r ie a n d in t h e p r o c e s s of the a t t a ck, as the B r i t ish soldiers w e re going o v e r t h e walls in t o t he fort, a B r it ish shell h it t he a m m u n it io n d u m p a n d blew it . I t k illed e v e r ybody in t h e f o r t a n d a l l s u r rou n d ing the for t . They j us t took all t h e bo d ie s , dug a hole and t h r e w t h e m i n t h e ground. B o t h B r i t ish a n d A m e r icans. T h e y c o u l d t e ll t he d ifferent ones w h e n they d u g t he m u p and re pla n t e d them. The buttons on their u n ifo r m s were bras s and they were s t il l t h e r e . They could t e l l w h o w a s B r it ish and who w a s A m e r ic a n . N o w w h y s o m ebody d o n ' t th ink t o set t h e F o r t u p as a t o u r is t ( a t t r a c t io n , wh ich was one of t h e b e s t in t he whole c o n t inent I t h ink. I f t h e y s e t t h a t u p . . . . . I t ' s a n A m e r ica n F o r t be cause i t ' s bu ilt in t he shape o f a s t a r and t h a t ' s t h e w a y t h e y built t h e i r F o r t s . The B r it ish built 6 �t h e i r F o r ts square or r o u n d , t h e y d i d n ' t have any . . . . . if you look a t that fort you'll see it's exactly as a star. It was a d ve r t ise d in that way , an A m e r ican fort. I t h ink t he t o u r ist t r affic wou ld be t e r r if ic . P e o ple come u p a n d don't know it's there . There should b e m o re a d v e r t ising t o it a n d th ings l ike that . I t h ink the . . . . I' m s u r e the P a r k C o m m ision ; who o p e r a t e t he f o r t , will co6pe rate with anybody that wants t o d o so m e t h ing about it. It would be o n e o f t h e b e t t e r th ings, I th ink it wo uld . . . . . in t he su m m e r t i m e i t would c r e a t e a l o t o f e m pl o y m e n t . N iagra F alls N e w Y o r k was wh e r e the B r i t ish . . . . . see t h e y were in t he Un ited S t a t es, they had t h e fort o v e r there a n d t h e A m e r ican s we re in F o rt E r ie a n d they had t h e fort h e r e . And, as I say , du r ing the peace negot iat ions, t h e y j ust t r a d e d f o r ts. The B r i t ish gave the A m e r icans F o r t N iagra o n t h e A m e r ican side a n d they gave us F o rt E r i e . The fort is still t h e r e , the sa m e o r iginal shape it was. I th ink there would be some body i n t h e N iagra P a r k C o m m ision who would give you a g r e a t deal o f h istory o n i t , wh o k n o ws it. Why it's not use d as a t o u r ist a t t r a c t ion, w i t h j ust that one end o f it , t h e A m e r icans woul d be awful please d t o c o m e o v e r here and see an A m e r ican fort. I th ink as a t o u r ist a t t r a c t ion it would be t e r r ific. I don 't know wh y it hasn 't been done. As far as t h e Peace B r id g e , if y o u ' v e read A l' s [ S pe a r ] book , A l m ade a c o m plete st u d y of t h e b r id g e , c o m plete. H e's in a posit ion that h e k n o ws, being manager of the b r idge h e can get all the info r m a t ion t h a t you want . A l ' s a real s m a r t , sma r t , he's a s m a r t b oy . I reme m be r wh e n h e w a s m anag ing L u c idol in Fort E r ie. D.M: W h at ' s that ? C.R: L u c i d o l Ch emical on t h e G a r r ison R o a d at t he railroad t r acks. H e m anaged that wh en he Made t h e applicat ion and got t h is j o b o n t h e b r idge. I ask e d h i m I sa id what t r a in ing d i d you have ? A nd he sa i d none whatsoever. H e sa i d they h ir e d a n employ m e n t agency in H a m ilton t o int e r v ie w t h e cand idat es and he sa id I went d o wn a n d he said I got t h e j o b. H e got it on h is o wn m e r its. If y o u ' v e . . . ! would say if you read h is book a n d if t h e r e ' s any info r m at ion you n e e d , I wou l d talk t o A l. He's the type of fellow that will co6perate w i t h you a n d be very very good and sincere with you on it. H e ' ll h e l p you out alot . O t h e r tha n that I ca n tell you t h e y ' v e done an a wful lot o f bu ild ing and r e b u il d ing at both e n ds of t he br idge a n d t h e y ' v e s p e n t m il l ions of dollars and wh en Joe F r ench w a s t he m anager h e al ways wan t e d a Fort E r ie c o n t r ac t o r to get t he j o b, and A r chie 7 �McGlashon had t h e j ob for years and years and yea r s , he d i d all t h e renovat ing j ob s , and just before . . . just as w e were finish ing ( up the last j ob A r ch ie d i d , he d r o p pe d over dead. Joe F rench said w e l l the br idge w il l take o v e r a n d fin ish it, w e had abou t two or t h r e e weeks t o go t o f in ish the j ob, wh ich w e d i d . A n o t h e r fellow t h a t could t e ll you a n a w f u l lot about the br idge is B u t ch B e l l e p e r che. You know B u tch ? B u t ch w a s s u p e r intendent of m a intenance on t h e bridge , h e knows t h e h is t o r y of t h e bridge real w el l. He's on Inj u r y R e t i r e m e nt now , h a s b e e n for a few yea r s . H is w ife is A l ' s s e c r e t a r y and i f y o u get a . . . . . if y o u called B u t ch Belleperche a n d could m ake a n appo int m e n t , go u p and see h i m so m e e ve n ing or s o m e t i m e aft e r 5 o ' clock when h is w ife's h ome from w o r k , s h e ' s s t ill w o rking on t h e br idge , s t ill's A l ' s s e c r e t a r y, be t w e e n t h e t w o o f t h e m they ' d give you an awful lot of h is t o r y on the b r idge, because she's worked in t h e m anagers office u p there for y e a rs and yea rs a n d y e a r s, and B u t ch w a s s u p e r intendent on the b rid ge a n d he kn ows it f r o m soup t o n u t s, ins ide o u t , b ot h s ides , the A m e r ican s ide and t h e C an a d ian s ide . That w il l be w h e r e you'll get more info r m a t ion o n t h e bridge than anybody that I can t h ink of. Other than A l S pear ( w h o m a de a c o m plete study of it . D.M: W h a t can y o u tell me about C ry s tal B each ? C.R: W e l l , w h e n t h e Halls o w n e d it , it was a v e r y t h r iv ing bu s in e s s. They used to have a big dance hall t h e r e and all the big n a m e bands from the U n it e d S tates u s e d to come over t he re. D.M: W h ich ban d s ? C.R: O h , I forget t h e n a m e of ' e m . B u t all t he big n a m e ban ds, I d o n ' t k n o w w h o could t e l l you the n a m e s of t h e m be cause I d i d ' n t p a y t o o m uch a t t e n t io n b u t I know I seen t h e m when they c a m e o v e r . One band leader that w a s k illed in t he w a r , h e was f l y i n g ove r t o e n t e r t a in the t r o op s o v e r t h e r e and h is plane g o t shot d o w n ove r G e r m a n y , he playe d h e re, t h e r e was q u it e a few big ban d s , big n a m e ban d s . I d o n ' t k n o w who . .. . I' m j u s t t r y ing t o t h ink of who could talk t o you about C ry s t a l B e ach , I don' t kn ow ..... Halls , I d o n ' t know them at a l l , I k n e w the B a r d o l s but I d idn't know the H alls. D.M: C.R: ( T e l l m e abou t the B a r dols. W e l l B a r dol h a d a h o m e at t he c o r n e r of H e lena and t he road along t h e lake . . . Edge m e re. They had a big , big w h i t e f r a m e h ou se , it 's s t ill t h e re. W e l l t h e r e w a s t h r e e boy s , unfortunat e l y , s h o r t l y after 8 �t h e old man d ie d , one son co m m ited s u i ci d e , and t he othe r s o n beca m e a c o n f i r m e d alcoh o l ic . H e l ived a long t i m e , h is h o m e w a s built o n t h e lakeshore r ight a t t h e e n d of A lbe r t S t re e t . I f you drove ( down you h it h is h o m e . H e w a s the las t , t h e r e ' s Ed and Bob. Ed built a home o n Thunder B a y R oad w h ich that hockey playe r out of Boston, you r e m e mber the fellow that d r ank h i m s elf out o f a j o b ? He bough t that h o m e . 75 0 , 0 00 d olla r s , i t 's S a n d e r s o n . P layed for B o s t o n . H e h a d a fo r t u n e . H e made it playing h ockey and h e ble w everyth ing . H e w e n t r ight down t o the very bottom, I t h in k h e ' s s t ill alive . B u t Ed d i e d , t he one boy c o m m it t e d suic ide a n d Bob, h e j u s t d r a nk h im s e l f t o death D.M: D id you know M r . Bardol w h e n he owned E r ie Beach ? C.R: I n e v e r m e t . . . . n e v e r m e t h i m , nope he was never a r o u n d . I m e t h is w ife , Mr s , B a r d o l , I k n e w h e r . B u t h is w ifes s is t e r or h is s is t e r , n o . It was Mr. B a r d o l ' s w ifes s is t e r , s h e r a n E r ie B each C o m pany after . . . . they s t il l had their c o m pany, they didn't sell ou t t he c o m pany they just sold all t h e a m u s e m e n t s . I p u t a refr idge r a t o r in t h e r e , I r e m e m ber I h a d t o have abou t e igh t m e n putit in, it w e ighed o v e r a t o n . It was a four doo r , 1 8 cubic foot r e f r idge r a t o r , I ' l l n e v e r f o r g e t that , w h e n w e w e n t o v e r that p o r ch w e had to put planks ( down s o w e d id n ' t break t h e side porch going i n . Yeah, that was a beaut iful home when they ha d it , oh boy . Did you go in there aft e r K n o x m o v e d out ? T h e y h a d q u it e a s e t t l e m en t out t h e r e . H e rb Milch w a s a lawyer over in Buffalo, and just a t t he back here old Jake Blakefield h a d a plac e , h e w a s a rag m a n ! H e bough t all t he s t u f f the sch ineys picked u p . D.M: The what ? C.R: S ch ineys we u s e d to call t h e m . D.M: W h a t ' s that ? C.R: U se d to go round h olle r ing any old rags , bo t t le s . T he y 'd chant on th is w a g o n as they d r o v e a r o u n d w ith t h e i r horse s, call out on t he s t r e e t as they w e r e going d o w n if you h a d any old bot t les , ra gs o r b o n e s o r anyth in g , they w o u l d take all t he garbage and then they' d take it and sell it to these j un k deale r s . Jake Blakefield was a . . . h is father had a j un k y a r d o v e r in B u ffalo . W e used to call t h e m sch ineys ! They w e r e nearly all J e w s . They w e r e r u n n ing t hi s rag bus ine s s , ( j u nk bu s in e s s as it was calle d . They m u s t h a v e m a d e good m oney because those homes along the lak e s h o r e a i n 't no cheap h o m e s , S o m e of the m a r e q u it e valuable . I re m e mber o n e n ight I ha d t o 9 �go up t h e r e and w i re a ya r d , one of t h e y a r d s u p there for a d o c t o r. H e rb Milch w a s a l a w y e r a n d it was h is brother- in-law and he w a s ( h a v ing t h is p a r t y , h e w a s . ..... w e w ir e d u p t h e back yard and o h b o y w h a t a wea ring j ob and I said t o h i m at t he t i m e , n ow h o w d o y o u want t h is , do you w a n t th is put in s o it w il l las t ? N o n o , t o m o r ro w m o r n ing y o u c a n t a k e it a l l ou t. S o w e t e m po r a r ily w ir e d it in o r d e r t o get s o m e ligh t , a n d h e h a d eve rybo d y c o m e o u t to h is house t o t h is pa r t y a n d they all g o t o u t of t h e i r cars a n d he h ir e d busses and h e took them u p t o C r e scent P a rk t o where that ch ines e r e s t au r a n t is n o w , t h e big one on the r igh t hand s ide, The M a y Wah ? H e took ' e m u p t h e re and they had d r inks and s o m et h in g to eat u p t h e r e a n d then h e brough t ' e m back. H e h a d a t w o c a r g a r a g e and t h e ba r t e n d e r f r o m the S ta t le r H o t e l . H e had a bar i n t h e r e and o h w h a t a p a r t y. The n e x t m o r n ing w e w e n t u p t o t a k e t h e stuff ou t a n d h e said w e l l I w a n t it left in . I sa y s w e ' l l have t o t ake it a n d p u t it in o v e r a g a i n if you w a n t t h a t l igh t in g b a c k in, I said I asked you if you w a n t e d it in pe r m anantly a n d you said no. W e l l I said I j u s t w ir e d it t e m p o r a r i l y , j us t f or t h e n igh t a n d that party went o n ' t il abo u t four o r five o' clock in t h e m o r n in g . The l a w y e r , I w as ( g o o d f r i e n d s w ith the l a w y e r , he t old m e , h e said he spe n t ove r 15 , 0 0 0 dollars on that p a r t y. H e r e n t e d a p ia n o f r o m t h e S t a t le r H o t e l , h e h a d all these m u s icians come o v e r a n d he ha d a par t y , I' m t e l l ing y o u ! H e w a s a batch e l o r a n d h e w a s apparently a m il l ionaire a n d h e w a s just s p e n d in g h is m o n e y , he s p e n t it! H e rb said t o m e , C h r is , y o u n e v e r s a w s u ch a bunch o f i n d ians i n a l l y o u r l ife ! H e s a y s t h e y g o t d r u n k and t h e y ha d a s w i m m in g p o o l t h e r e a n d they were t h r o w ing money in t h e s w i m m ing pool and the w o m e n and t h e m e n w e r e d iving in aft e r t h e m o n e y w it h all t he ir clothes on, a l l t h e i r p a r t y clothes on! H e said you n e v e r s a w such a bunch o f h o o l igans i n all y o u r l ife ! Oh what a t i me. I th ink i t cost h i m nearly a t h ousand dollars t o l igh t t he back y a r d up, just t e m porar ily a n d t a k e it all o u t the n e x t d a y . H e ha d t h e w a i t e r , the h e a d w a i t e r f r o m t h e S ta t l e r a n d all t h e d iffe rent pla ce s. They ha d no w a t e r u p i n E r ie B each you know they had... . they all had to pu m p the i r o w n w a t e r , a n d I was s it t ing on t he F o r t E r ie C ouncil for a couple o f years, H e rb Milch c o m e t o m e and h e s a i d we'd l ike so m ebody ( t o g e t water u p there, s o , h e w a s a lawyer a n d h e k n e w all the f i n iggel ing a n d what t o do a n d h e said W e ' ll pay for e ve ry t h ing C h r is , w e d o n ' t want it for noth ing, w e ' ll pay. W e l l , there was no 10 �w a t e r in E r ie Beach at t h is t i m e , on A lbe r t S t r eet and in t h r ough that a r e a and w e w ould have to go th rough t he re, so t hen w e had to go a c r o s s B a r d o l ' s p r o p e r t y and he o w n e d f r o m Bardol I t h ink it ( is to t h e s t r e e t on the o t he r s ide if A lbert, he o w n e d all that vacant p r o p e r t y in there and they didn't want t o spend the m oney cause it w a s nearly three quar t e r s of a m ile of w a t e r m a in that ha d to be r u n th rough there, it h a d t o be paid f o r . S o H e r b says well E rie B each A s s o c ia t io n , w e ' l l pay for it. So they paid for the w a t e r line t o go t h r o u gh there and they said what if t he people in E r ie B each, t h e r e was a poor degraded area down t h e r e , what if they don't pay t h e i r bills ? He says w e ' l l take care of any d e f iciencies that you have . So they of c o u r s e w e re all m illionaires in t h e r e and they d i d n 't w o r ry about it and I got a .... I got t h e w a t e r line t h r ough a n d h e c a m e d o w n and h e s a i d Ch r is n ow h e s a i d I want to t a k e t he F o rt E r ie C ou n c il o v e r t o McVans N ight C lub, h e said no w , he said t he part ie s o n me. Y o u take it . .. . .. . ... . . I t h ink t h e r e was 12 or 13 of u s w e n t o ve r . A n d in t h is n igh t clu b h e ga ve u s a t able r ight next t o t h e stage a n d e v e r y t h ing you mnt , e v e r yth ing you wanted w a s t h e r e . They s t a r t e d out and they o r d e r e d d r in k s , w e ll it took t he girl, ( I t h ink t h e r e w a s 1 9 of u s s it t ing a rou n d the tabl e , it t ook h e r q u i t e a w h ile t o co m e b a ck so t h e n t h e y ' d o r d e r doubles, then t h e y w e r e o r d e r ing t r ip le s , w h e n it come time t o eat, they all looked at me because I was t he ins t iga t or t o get the th ing go ing, you s e e ? So I picked the m o s t e xpe n sive me a l on the m e nu out, w e l l t h e n t h e y s t a r t e d ! The bill was over 800 dollars f o r t he nigh t . A n d h e said t o m e C h r is i f you don't g e t t h e m d ru n k a n d g e t t he m stuffed so that they c a n ' t m o v e , he sa y s I ' l l k ick you a l l o v e r F o r t E r ie , h e s a y s n o w y o u m ak e s u r e t h e y d o . W h e n w e w e n t out t h e own e r of t h e n igh t club, I forget h is n a m e , McVans it w a s , b u t i t w a s a .£ w t h a t o w n e d i t , a n d N e l s m e t us at t he d o o r w a y at 3o' clock in t h e mor n in g , half pas t t h ree in t h e m o r n ing w h e n w e left. W e s a t t h r ough t h r e e s h o w s . . . . . and t h e y s h o o k ha n d s w it h e v e r ybo dy and h e m a d e sure t h a t e v e r ybod y w a s w e l l sat isfied before we left. What a p a r t y w e h a d that n igh t ! The o n ly t i m e w e ' d had a party like that in o u r life befo r e . I d o n ' t k n o w what he paid f or t h a t , it must have c o s t him close t o two thousand dollars for t he n igh t. ( D.M: W h e n w as t h is ? C.R: I.. .I forget no w . I s a t in t h e council f or two years a n d I forget when I w as o n t h e r e . Must be t h i r t y years ago. S k ip H o w e w a s the :Mayor 11 �I r e m embe r , you w o u l d n ' t k n o w Ski p H o w e I s u p pose. HE was an insu rance agent in F o r t Er ie. B r oadly .... you know Sargent Broadly that j u s t r e t i r e d off t h e police for ce, h is father was on there. Al Cu r rant w a s a Cus t o m Off icer, Phil D uncan a railroad man; Doc R e id was a v e t e r inary s u rgeon, used to be at the earner of Main a n d Conces s io n , Main and Concession, yeah, he uh.: .. � I think it's s t il l a v e t e r inary h o s p ital is n't it, at the corner? Old D oc Reid, he m a r r ie d Cannon Be rt's daught e r, Cannon B e r t of the Anglican Chu rch. B ill and I , w e rep rese nted h im, we were in one; we were in war one, h e and I. W e w e r e the two r e presentatives. What a ti me w e had in that counc il. When I s t o p t o think now, they don't,;,, t hey're ashame d of what they ' r e do ing, they go int o c o m m it t ee all the time, A l w ays going into c o m m i t t e e. I went .... When I sat in that council we had only one n ight that we went int o c o m m it t e e and the fellow that was in X- rays at the h o s pital, h is daught e r was 15 years old; S h e got out one n ight a n d s h e got pregnant and he c a m e down to t h e t o w n to s e e if he could get s ome a s sistance. So I got up and said I think in t h is case we should go into com mitt ee. She was only a l it tle girl 15 years old a n d I said I d o n ' t think we should discuss ( th is in publ ic. S o w e went into com m it t e e on it and that was the only t i m e that w e d id n ' t b r ing the facts and figures o u t for eve r 1 body, we ne v e r had any t r ou ble. They have at these council me etings, cal l ing the police in t o get t hem out and ever ything e l se. We neve r had that k in d of th in g . We h a d fello w s there that we re doing under t h e t a ble t r icks, w e'd b r ing it r ight out in the council meeting� I r e m ember one n ight I said to B ill D u ncan, I said Bill, w ill you take the cards out f r o m u n d e r the table and put the m on the top so we can all see the m ? H e wa n t e d to sell a p iece of p r o perty u p the Gilmore Road here. Y ou know w h e r e the ind ust rial park is now ? W ell fro m Wa r r e n S t reet all the way up to the ...... there's a big vacant field and s o m e b o d y c a m e o v e r he r e lo oking for the prope rty to buy it to put up a plant and he w a n t e d to know what we wanted it for arid Duncan, he got w in d of it s e e, and he was gonna have s ome body buy this property and h e'd sell it t o them. H e was gonna buy it for 600 dollars, that whole great big block of g round, for 6 0 0 b u cks. I sa i d , 1'11 sell the p r o p e r t y f or a dollar if the man w ill bu ild a plant ( here , and I s a i d I ' ll give h i m the dollar to pay fot it, if he ' d build 12 �a p l a n t , but I said I w on't sell it . . . . . . I s a id what a r e you gonna do w ith it ? S o m e b o d ies gonna graze s h e e p on it . They w e r e n't gonna g raze s h e e p on it . They w e r e gonna but it for peanu t s and sell it to t h is ( p e r s o n and make s o m e m on e y on it, s o anyway , t h e deal fell th rough , it n e v e r , n e v e r developed b u t as I say, all ou r bus iness m e e t ing s , a n y t i m e w e w e n t t o c o u n c i l , everyth ing was d is c u s s e d in o p e n . W e d idn't h a v e p e o p l r coming t o our m e e t in g s , t h e r e wasn't any people inte r e s t e d in coming o u t . But o n e m a n I re m e m be r , t he n ight manager o f t h e R oyal Bank, s o m e t i m e s he'd be t h e only m a n there . He w a s at e v e r y c o u n c il m e e t ing we e v e r h a d . H e sat r ight at the rail . When t h e Mayo r would ask if anybody had anyth ing t o say, he'd never open h is m o u t h , never say a w o r d. H e'd j us t s i t t h e r e and w at ch what w e d i d . O f c o u r s e o u r b a n k a c c o u n t was in t he Royal Bank . I guess h e was, h e was qu ite a s m art man, h e got p r o m o t e d w e l l u p in t h e bank , t h e R oyal B ank , b e f o r e h e got f i n ishe d . I can't u n d e r stand the way they ope rate no w , I can't . . . . . if th ey're elected by t h e people , w h y t h e y d on't d iscuss t h e peoples prob le m s in public, w h y d o they have t o go in h id ing ? I can't se e that at all, I d o n't know why they d o it . ( D.M: W h a t can you t e l l me about t h e blizza r d of 1939 ? C.R: 1939, uh-huh . I happen to be s i t t ing on t he c o u n c il at that t i m e a n d I was c h a i r m a n of t h e s t r e e t s . . . . . a n d the M a y o r S k ip H o w e calle d m e N e w Y e a r s m o rn i n g , 2 o'c l o c k , an d h e s a i d Ch r is , you're the new cha irman o f the s t r e e t s . H e said the re's 7 feet of s now on the ground , both plows are broken d o w n , n o w get t he t o w n cleaned up, and h e hung u p the phon e . S o I got my sn ow shoe s . . . . . I went d o w n to t h e and got m y s n o w s h o e s out and I re m e m be r se e i n g a bunch of cleat t r acks at Horton S t e e l . S o there was about 30 m e n in H o r t o n S t e e l , they w e r e stuck t h e r e , they couldn't get h o m e , they w e r e i n t h e p l a n t and I got u p t h e r e a n d I s a i d Mac , w hat about us ing s o m e o f these cleat t racks ? He said I haven't got no blades . I said gee w h iz . T h e r e w asn't a t h in g m ov in g , noth ing m ov i n g . D.M: What's a cleat t r ack ? C.R: Th e s e bulldoze r s w ith the . . . . that they use for haul ing s t u f f around . B u t they had no blade s , they w e re j u s t used for m o v ing mach ine r y . So I s a i d , w e l l M:ac , I said , h o w about tak ing t h e p l o w off one o f the t r ucks and p u t t ing it o n t h e front ? N o , h e s a i d , w e can't d o that . I s a i d w e l l h o w about p u s h ing the t r uck ? H e s a i d okay , w e c o u l d do that, but he s a id h o w are w e gon n a connect it u p ? S o w e 13 �thought for a w h ile a n d w e called Wal t e r De i t che r at t h e F le e t , h e h a d about, o h , 30 o r 4 0 m e n i n t h e r e , t h e y w e r e s t u ck, t h e y cou ldn't ( get out. S o w e called h i m up and he was s t uck in the office, he couldn't get out so w e s a i d h o w about making a bar , can you m ake u s a bar out of a i r plane s t e e l t o push the t ruck ? Y e ah , su re , okay. S o I s a i d fine . J i m m y F lake, t h at's J i m m y's old m a n n o w , h is fath e r , h e s a id h e'd d r iv e t h e t r u ck, h e'd d r ive t h e cleat t r a c k , n o w in s h ie l d on i t , noth ing, j u s t sat on t h e seat in t he w ide open. S o we w e n t d o w n on o n e of t h e s e t h in g s , I st ood in the b a c k of it a n d w e went d o w n and w e got the t ru c k a n d hooked on the t ruck at F inches G a r a g e , that w a s on w h e r e F reelands Travel A ge n cy is n ow . It w a s a D o dge t ruck a n d w e t o we d it up t o t he F leet and t h e y m a d e a bar. The Mayor, he c a m e d o w n and r o d e up in t he t r u c k . W e got in t h e t r u c k a n d I s t e e r e d the t ruck, well w e got u p t h e r e , 3 o'clock in t h e m o r n ing w e got t h e b a r finish e d . W e s t a r t e d d o w n t h e road. W e l l , we got d o w n G il m o r e a w ays, a n d all of a s u d d e n t h e t ru ck w o u l d go in the d itch that w a y and t h e c leat t rack in th is w a y , back it up and h it it again ! I looked ou t the w in dow of the t ruck and h e re's all t h e guys from t h e F le e t co m ing d o w n behind us. I ( s a i d what in t h e w o r l d a r e t h e y gonna do when we get to t he boulevard ? S o, I s a i d , I don't care w h a t t h e y're gonna do, when t hi s t ru ck h it s t h e bouleva r d , I s a i d h e's g o n n a t u r n a n d go o v e r t o B e r t ie S t reet a n d get the H o s p ital o p e n . Th en I s a id h e'll go a c r o s s Con c e s s io n a n d c o m e d o w n e v e r y o t h e r s t reet, a n d b a c k u p. One t rack s o t he a m bulance can go u p a n d t h e y can w alk one block t h a t w a y and one block that way. W e l l , t h a t w e n t o n fo r , oh, 3 days. And w e got the t o w n slowly out. Th e y ca lle d m e f r o m To ronto a n d t he Minister t h e r e s ays do you need any foo d ? W e'll send d o w n some milk and bread . I said n o , the re's n o se n se in s e n d ing u s m ilk a n d bread, I s a i d t h e g r o c e r y s t o r e s h ave all got g r o c e r i e s , but I sa i d t h e y've got 18 feet of snow o n t h e i r f r ont doo r . You can't get in t h e m . I s a i d h o w a r e they g o n n a g e t t o the r a ilroad stat ion t o get t he m ilk a n d bread ? I said t h e y c an't get t h e re. I said w h a t I w a n t is s o m e plow s . I said how a b o u t loaning s o m e plo w s ? He said I got 19 p lo w s b r oken d o w n bet w e e n To ron t o and F o r t E r ie. H e said I can't do a th ing to h e l p y o u . W el l , w e pushed around a n d we got ( the t o w n cleared out p r e t t y w e l l , w e were a long t i m e d o ing it and w e h a d t o get A rch ie Mc G lash on's s t eam shovel. H e h a d a n old shovel there, a deep t rack t h ing and w e l if t e d the snow a n d hauled it do w n 14 �in t r ucks a n d d u m pe d it in t h e r iver t o get J a r v is S t r e e t o pe n . It took a w e ek t o get the t o w n o pe n . O h, it was s o m e th ing . And that was one s t o r m . Th en I was in t h e m idst o f t he last s t o r m w e had . . . . . . ( The last b ig s t o r m we h a d . D.M: W h e n was that ? C.R: It w a s in t h e s e v e n t i e s . D.M: ' 77 ? C.R: N o , I don' t t h ink it was '77. I could h a v e b e e n . I had t he . . . . my business th e n and I happen t o be t he c e n t e r s t a t io n because I was in . . . . W e d is patched a l l the f i r e c o m panies a n d the f i r e c o m panies w e r e in c h a r g e of e v e r y t h in g . D u r ing t h a t s t o r m . . . . I c o u l d s e e it c o m ing, I called all t h e operators in and there was one g i r l who couldn't get in a n d I called the pol ice a n d they w e n t ou t w ith a c r u is e r and b r ough t h e r in . I beat it d o w n , I s a w t h e st or m c o m ing so I w e n t d o w n to the grocery s t o r e and I bought a load of g r o c e r ies , got the m u p in t he place a n d w e s t a r t e d . A s w e w e r e t he central stat io n , S t .Cat h e r ines calle d m e and said w e want s n o w m o b iles t o pat rol the h igh ways . He says w e ' d l ike to have 2 g o up n o . 3 and n o . 3c and d o w n the boulevar d . So I hung up the phone a n d I t hough t w h e r e a m I gonna ( get s no w m o b iles ? S o I calle d N ichols Ma r ina and I s a i d Blake, have you got any snowmobile s ? He said no. S o I called B u d Willia m s , I s a i d B u d , you've,got a s n o w m o b ile s it t ing at your plac e , I said w e ' ve gotta get some snow m o b iles . Well, he says it ; s h e r e b u t I' m no t gonna d r ive it , he say s , y o u can h a v e it a n d he said s o m e b ody w ill d r ive it . A l r ig h t so, Blake said t h e r e was a snow m o b ile clu b a n d they g a v e m e a g u y s name and h e was stuck in the F le e t that t i m e a n d I called u p him a n d I got a h o l d of h i m and h e was head o f some club that had d is b a n d e d , but h e k n e w e v e r y b o d y had sno wmobiles . I called h im a n d h e got s t u c k g o ing f r o m F leet up to R idge R oad and h e finally got h o m e, and h e calle d me u p and w it hi n two h o u r s h e h a d 3 0 sn o w m o b iles on t h e r o a d . . . . . . and I s a i d w e ll alrigh t , se n d 2 d o w n n o . 3 and s e n d 2 d o w n t o G a r r ison , s e n d one out t o S t e vensville, a n d what you got t o look f o r is cars s t uck t o see if people a r e froze n . t h e y f o u n d o n e w o m an w h o w a s 3 h o u r s on R o s e h il l road a n d she w a s r u n n ing her car to keep war m a n d her car had r u n out of gas, a n d they j us t got her in t h e n ick of t i m e . Th ey got he r in and there ( w a s a c a r s t u c k in front of Th ibodeus L a n d s c a p ing place o n D o m in ion R o a d . And they got u p and they got chains on it and they pulle d it off and t h e r e was ano t h e r car u n d e r n eath i t . He drove r ight u p 15 �over t o p he d i d n ' t k n o w t h e r e was another car t h e r e buried in t he sno w ! W e l l , w e uh , f inally uh , there was no elect r ic i t y , y ou c oul d n ' t ( pu m p any g a s , coul d n ' t get gas for the sno w m o b ile s , w e had an a w ful t i m e and I had an eme r ge n cy l ight ing plant in my shop runn in g on gasoline, it run out o f gas , we had no pow e r . The phones w e r e all out , e v e r y t h ing w a s out s o I h a d t o g e t m y c a r , park it up alongs ide the build ing a n d hook my gastank up ' t il I run that dry. F inally they was able t o get gas, s o m e bo d y got a road open into S t evens v ille , so the police w e n t to S t ev e n s v il le a n d b rough t me d o w n five gallons of gas . And then t h e y got p o w e r up B e r t ie S t re e t t o t h e h o s p ital s o the h o s p ital could run . . . . a n d the fellow who h a d t he gas s t a t ion at the corner o f G il m o re a n d Ce ntral . . . . O r Bert ie a n d Ce n t r al and everybody v1as g e t t ing t h e r e ca rs out a n d they were all lined up t o buy gas and you couldn' t get into the place s o I just calle d t h e pol ice a n d I s a id I n e e d gas , I g o t t a ha ve g a s I sa i d I' m run n ing out , my car w il l soon be out of gas . So they c a m e o v e r a n d got a five gallon can a n d they w e n t up a n d they got m e gas a n d b r ough t it down and w e w e r e a b le to k e e p go ing. The snow was so d e e p , we had e v e r y b o d ie s c a t e r p il l a rs and e v e r y t h in g , all the e quip m e n t ( w e could get and I r e m e m b e r u p at Thun de r B a y , w e h a d to g e t the fello w s in t o d r ive the b i g bulldozers that they h a d at the qua r r y . They w e r e o p e r at o r s , they w e r e the only ones that c ould o p e r a t e the m , h a d t o b r in g t h e m in f r o m s o m e w h e r e a r ound Kings t o n , but they got h e r e and they plo w e d the road c r o s s w ise and they piled the snow r ig h t up o v e r t h e t e l e phone w ires . O n e w o m an called me on the T h o m pson R o a d a n d she said t he sno w m o b ile just knocked the ae r ial off m y r o o f ! I said yeah , I s a i d uh . .. . . she s a i d I heard the th ing a n d tha a e r ial fell down, she says I can't see out , I can' t get out . I s a i d w h e r e a r e you locat e d ? S h e t old m e and I s a i d w e l l l o o k i t I . . . . . S h e s a i d I' m f i n e , I g o t heat and I got ligh t s and I got grocer ies. Y e ah , I says , if s o m e t h ing h a ppened t o y ou, they don' t even s e e your h ouse , your h ouse is bur ie d . I said I b e t t e r have s o m e bo d y c o m e up a n d shovel y o u out , I ' l l get s o m e fire m a n t o c o m e up and sh ovel you out . S h e says a l r igh t , but t e ll t h e m t h e r e ' s my car s it t ing in the d r iv e w ay and it' s a b r a n d new c a r , tell the m not t o d ig into that ! I s a id a l r ight. So, t h e y went up a n d they dug h e r out a n d sh e ( calle d up and she says that m y ch i m n e y ' s knocked o f f ! I s a i d what k i n d of heat do you have , s h e says gas , well I said then you' l l be al r igh t , it w o n ' t hurt, I s a id gas don't r e quire any d r aft , so y ou' l l b e o k a y the re. I s a id d i d t h e y get your . . . . . Y e ah , they got m e p l o w e d 16 �out she said, they dug me o u t and I can s e e out on t he s t r e e t n o w . S h e couldn't see out h e r f r o n t d o o r , ou t h e r w in d o w s o r anyt h in g , ( h e r h o u s e was c ompletely b u r ied. T h e y calle d m e f rom S t . Cath e r ines a n d they said don't w o r ry, w e got all k inds of gene r a t o r s , w e got a dozen o f them here. I said what good are they in S t . Cat h e r ine s ? I s a i d the snow's r ight up t o t he t o p of the ove r passes on the Queen E l izabet h , n o t h ing can get t h rough , I s a id what good a r e they in S t . Cath e r ines ? Th ey're no good t o me! I said anoth e r t h in g , I said if w e h ave the m , w e can't g e t gasoline t o run them anyway. Well finally they calle d m e a n d they s a i d , h o w's you r elec t r ic ity in F o r t E r ie . I said I don't k n o w b u t I'l l find o u t , I'll c a l l y o u back . S o I called th e Power Com pany a n d I said H arvey, I s a id H a rvey, h ow's the p o w e r ? H e s a i d Ch r i s , we're h o o k ing u p the last 3 houses u p in o n D o m i n ion R oad n e a r T h u n d e r B a y , h e s ays the re's 3 h o u s e s t o be connected u p and we'r e 100 percent back i n service . S o I called h i m back and I said w it h in h a l f an h ou r , t he whole town w il l have e l e c t r ic ity, the whole a r e a . Oh , I don't bel ieve it ! I s a i d I j u s t talked t o t h e Power Co m pany a n d t h ey're on t he last t h r e e h o u s e s n o w , they'll fin ish the m up a n d w e'll have p o w e r eve rywh e r e . I cou ld ( see it c o m in g , I could s e e w e w e r e going t o run out o f o il. There was n o oil d e l ive ry, s o I calle d the oil c o m pany that h a d these o il d r u m s , u s e d to be ove r h e re w h e r e the lu m be r c o m pany is . H e was in N iagra F al l s , I said people are gonna s t a r t r u n n ing o u t of oil very s h o r t ly, he says Ch r is , I can't do noth ing about i t , I'm down he r e ! I can't get out of N iagra F alls , s o I'll tell you , t h e keys for the tank and the t ruck are in the meter b ox u p t h e r e ins ide t he fence . I said a l r igh t , s o I called u p t he F ire H a l l and I s a i d w ill you b r ing a s n o w m o b ile ove r and take me up to the o il tanks t h e r e , and they said yeah . W e l l if you eve r rode o n a s n o w m o bile, t rying t o h o l d you r ove rcoat c l o s e d a n d t r ie d t o h ol d on t o the s no w m o b ile and those guys d on't d r ive s lo w ! They h it 'e m w ide open all the way ! We w e n t a c r o s s Conc e s s ion u p to G il m o re and I got t h e r e a n d the n he left me ! I walked o v e r t h e f e n c e , I didn't have t o climb ove r it , you j u s t walked ove r it , the s n o w was r igh t ove r top of the fence and I o p e n e d t h e meter box a n d I got in t h e r e and it was all full o f s n o w a n d I' m d igging t h e snow o u t a n d I can't find no keys . The s no w m o b ile ( had left m e u p there . Oh h o w a s I eve r col d ! I had a s p r ing coat , that was all I had o n , and I g o t h o l d of one of the P a s s e r o's , h e ran the restaurant in where the lau n d r o m at is n ow . S o h e came u p w ith 17 �h is t r u c k and brought m e back d o w n to h is r e s taurant and I calle d and I said s e n d a s n o w m o bile ove r an d b r ing m e b ack t o t he off ice . ( S o they d i d and I cal l e d N iagra F alls and I sa i d I can't find no k e y s . Well, he said the d r iv e r m u s t have t he m . So I calle d t he d r iv e r and he lives o n College S t reet at t he Queen E. That's on the ot he r s ide of R idge m o n t R oad. I calle d h im and he say s yeah , I got t he ke y s in m y p o c k e t . I said w e gotta get o i l , I said pe ople are gon n a st art r u n n ing out of o i l and w e have no h eat . H e said al r ight . I say s w e l l look it , I'll s e n d a cou ple o f s no w m obiles out t o get t h e ke y s , w e coul d n't s e n d one because if one got s t u c k , w e h a d t o s e n d t w o . H e said that's fine , h e said I'll c o m e i n w ith t he m . I said h o w are you s ituat e d ? Have you got a .. . . you can't d r ive . . . . . he says I got a sno w m o b il e , h e says I got a good one . H e said j u s t t e ll them t o b e careful of the dog w h e n they g e t h e r e . A l r igh t , so I s e n t t w o snow mobiles o u t t h e r e a n d they g o t h i m a n d t h e y brought h i m i n . S o w e s tar t e d . .. . . H o w a r e w e gonna g e t t h e o il arou n d ? S o I called Prat t & L a m b e r t s , I said w e need five gallon can s . H e said Ch r is , w e g o t all k in d s o f t h e m u p t h e r e , b u t he say s , I don't k n o w h o w we're gonna get t he m , h e says a cou ple of o u r m e n a r e on t h e F ire ( Depar t m e n t , h e s a y s tell t he m . Te ll t hem t o go in a n d help the m selves . S o the F ir e D e par t m e n t w e n t u p and got the cans, we w e n t u p and we filled these five gallon cans w ith oil and sh ipped t h e m. P eople called in and they had no o il s o we'd s e n d them ten gallons of o i l . W e had t o k e e p d o ing that t o k e e p the ir houses going. The A r m y c a m e i n with a n e igh t wheel d r ive t r u ck. Th e t o w n was c l o s e d u p c o m pletely. The T w n Hall h a d noth ing doing t h e r e s o w e b i lle t t e d o t h e m t h e r e , they s tayed in t h e To w n Hal l . W e got the m d e l i v e r ing oil w ith sno w m o b iles and they had about 25 men in t h e i r t r u c k and they'd get out an d w h e n t h e t ru ck w ou ld get stuck they'd shovel it out and away they'd go again ! And I r e m e mber one w oman , she calle d in . . . . ten gallons of o il was no good t o her, she w a n t e d a hun d r e d gallons , a n d I s a i d lady , take t e n gallons and be happy , t h e n I j u s t h u n g u p . G ir v e F re t z w a s t h e May o r at t he t i m e a n d I calle d G irve and I said G ir v e , t h is w o m an h e r e in t he low r e n t ing o u t f i t , I sai d she d o e s n't want . . . she w o u l d n't t ake ten gallons of o i l , she want s a h u n d r e d gallons of o i l . I said we're not d e l i v e r ing no hun d r e d gallons ( of o i l ! I said w h e r e she's locat e d , t he sno w's o v e r e ight feet dee p ! I said w e g o t ta do i t b y s n o w m o b ile a n d nobody can g e t i n the r e . 18 �N o w I said , if she calls you for oil, you tell h e r to call me. Because I said I' m n o t s e n d ing any oil u p there, if she's not sat isfied . . .. . . . W e had people calling , would w e go and get the m c igarette s ? ( W e ' r e out of c igarettes ! I sa i d la d y , y o u ' r e gonna have to quit . I t ' s a g o o d th ing f o r you , I s a i d you can q u i t s m ok in g now ! W e had t o get g r o ce r ie s , deliver g r o c e r i e s , uh oh ! W h a t a t i m e ! My girls w o r ke d , I h a d blanke t s a n d that , t h e y w o r k e d a r o u n d t h e clock . They' d go a n d have a sleep and c o m e b a c k . I b rou gh t in a whole load of groce r ies s o w e could all eat . Y o u couldn't get ou t t he door, you couldn't open o u r front door. What a t i m e w e had. They n e v e r m e n t ioned anyth ing about it but w e w e r e the key t o the whole s to r m , because all the me ssages being conne c t e d t o the r a d io w ith N iagra F alls and S t . Cat h e r ines a n d a l l a r o u n d t h e r e a n d S t . Cath e r ines w o u l d r a d io o u r place a n d w e ' d talk back a n d forth on t h e r a d io w ith t h e m and find out what w e w e r e d o ing . B u t I g u e s s w e w e r e two weeks before w e got t h e t r affic m o v ing half decen t . A b u s w a s s t u c k on t he S o d o m R o a d a n d o n e o f the b ig con t ractors , h e w e n t ou t in a g r e a t b ig bulldoze r a n d t o w e d t h e bus in, it w a s full of school k i d s , so he got t h e m in . We d idn' t . . . . nobody got s e r iously h u r t o r frozen on t he deal, e ve ry b ody . . . We w e r e lucky , we h a d t w o o r three close calls , but we got t h e m ( m o s t l y all in . B u t they n e v e r s a id anyth ing about t h a t , w e w e r e s i t t ing t h e r e back, w e w e r e t he F ire D e p ar t m e n t , you s e e , w e ans w e re d all t h e phone calls , that wa s t he only t h ing they knew about u s. .. Then I h a d a . . . . w e had an awful m e s s t o k e e p t he t o w n r oll ing . That w a s t w o s t o r m s I w e n t t h rough , I w e n t t h r ough t he big one when I was o n t h e counc il a n d I went th rough t h is one and I don 't k n o w what t h e y ' ll do n o w . T he fellow t h a t bought m y bus ine s s , t h e y tell m e that h e h a s n ' t c o m e d o w n t o s e e it . D.M: W h ich b u s i n e s s is that ? C.R: W re n A l a r m s . N o w h e c a m e in and bough t t he t h ing o u t . I don 't know what h e ' s d o in g , h o w he 's doing, I h a v e n ' t . . . . . . I sa w h i m on ce after I sold o u t a n d that was i t . D.M: C.R: When d i d h e take o v e r ? Oh , I ' v e been ou t n o w for 7 or 8 yea r s . D.M: N o , w h e n d i d y o u s t a r t t h e bus ines s ? C.R: ( W h e n d id y o u s t a r t t h e bus ines s ? When d id I s t a r t it ? Oh in about '7 5 I guess. I s t a r t e d u p when R e g ional G o v e r n m e n t took ove r . Because I h a d m y ala r m panel in the police s t a t io n a n d w e got orders t o t ake it ou t . I had two weeks . A n d Oh 19 �boy , what a t i m e I had t h e r e , I called Don S c o t t , he w a s c h a i r m a n of t h e R egional P olice , t h a t ' s t he j udge t h a t j u s t d ie d h e r e a s h o r t ( while ago . I c a l l e d D o n a n d I went . . . . . . Don had a m e e t ing w ith him a n d h e s a i d h e c o u l d n ' t do nothing, every plac e , h e said, . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . I sa id look it , N iagra F alls h a s n ' t got t h is type of s y s t e m , they haven't got i t . S t . C a t h e r ine s , I sai ct , you have all k i n d s of an s w e r ing s e r v i c e s , you c a n m o v e th e m into . . . . . . . I said w e haven't got a t h i n g . H e says w e l l , it has t o be done . W e ll w e started. I had t w o weeks . I had t o b u y t h e building, and wh ile I' m buying that I had t o s t a r t g e t t ing ready t o t ransfe r the . . . . m y stuff from the police station o v e r to m y b u i l d in g , well then they had nobody t o d ispatch t h e f i r e c o m p a n ie s , s o I g o t a contract w ith t h e m that I ' d d ispatch all t h e f i r e calls , so when you called for a fire , it goes into m y plac e , it don't go i n t o t h e town at a l l . It goes into m y place and w e have r a d io s a n d e v e r y t h ing there a n d w e r a d io t he fire depa r t m e n t s a n d send the fire d e p a r t m e n t out and I kn ow that they . . . . . I w e n t over one t i m e w h e n C reach was the t re asu re r of the t o w n a n d I said I gotta have m o re m on e y I said r.w g i r l s want m o r e m o n e y . I said t o h i m I s a i d look , the C . U . P . E . U n ion is t ry ing t o organ ize m y girls and I said if I d o n ' t pay them r::10 r e them t h e y ' r e gonna organ ize . H e says w e d o n ' t want that , w e don't want that , h e says how m uch you w a n t ? I s a id t h is is how much I want , no m o r e . The next day I got m y check t h r ough , clea r e d , j u s t like that . I said I i'.lon' t want no C . U . P . E . Union i n t h e r e , a n d I found o u t t h e n that h e sat d o w n and figured o u t . . . . the girls in h is office w e r e gett ing five t i m e s as m u ch pay as what m y girls w e r e g e t t in g . I sa i d t h a t ' s a c r i m e , I s a i d I ' m s t il l not g o n n a get u p t o t he i r wage s , I d o n ' t expect t o . I s a i d one t h in g , I said , y o u . . . . . . alot of y o u r g i r l s w o r k ing here, I s a i d , they coul d n ' t w o r k f or me because they c o u l d n ' t handle it . I s a i d m y girls a r e worth m o re than that , I said w e l l you pay them f ive t i m e s a s m u c h as m y girls ge t , I sa id . . . . . . H e said w e l l , t h a t ' s t h e cas e , h e s a id , we ca n 't d o anyth ing a b o u t i t . I finally decided w h e n I h i t s e v e nt y , I said , I'll re t ire . I'll g e t out . Th is chap that came in t o see me, I never s a w anyth ing like i t . H e walked in the door, h e s a i d I h e a r you w a n t to sell out and ret i r e , I said yeah . H e says I don' t c a r e w h a t you want for it , I gotta have it . I s a i d w e l l h e r e ' s m y ask ing p r ic e , he says I'll take it . J u s t l ike that . 20 �Then he said what about t h e build ing ? W e l l , I s a i d , I don't want t o sell the building, I s a i d I ' l l give you a long term lease . H e s a i d n o , I got too m uch money i n v o l v e d h e r e , h e said , I ' l l tell y o u what , ( you get t h e building evaluated an d I ' l l get t he b u i l d in g evaluat e d , whichever the h ighes t , I ' l l g i v e y o u t e n percent m o r e . He nearly floored m e w ith that ! S o , he w e n t ou t t he door a n d I called t h e b a n k a n d I said c h e c k o n that guys c r e d it w il l ya ? T h e y called m e back in half a n h o u r and said give him a m illion dollars c r e d i t i f he wants i t , j u s t l i k e that . A n d , h e took ove r . What a m e s s h e had t o s t ar t , h e d e c i d e d to m ove t he o f f ice i n t o o n e r o o m f r o m the b a c k , w h e r e I had t h e m in the s a f e t y r oo m , u p to t h e fr ont office . H e s a i d t o me, would you c o m e down a n d g ive us a ha n d, t o c h a n g e the w ir e s o ve r ? I s a id yeah . I wa l ke d in there and h is m e n w e n t back a n d w e had t w o o r t h r e e h u n d r e d pair of ca b le s c o m ing i n a n d they j us t took a pair o f pliers a n d they cut . I said where a r e you gonna hook those w i r e s u p ? I took one look at it and I turned around and I w alked out . N o w ay ! I t h ink h e w a s t w o o r t h r e e weeks before h e got h is phones c o n n e c t e d u p . What a m e s s ! G o o d job t h e r e w as n o f i r e s o r noth ing ! They couldn't get a hold of t h e fire d e pa r t m e n t . H e h a d o n e a w f u l m e s s . A ppa re n t ly h e g o t it s t r a igtened a w a y . ( I built a l l m y o w n e qu i p m e n t , I d i d n ' t buy anything, I b u ilt m y o w n s t at ion . O n e of t h e g i r ls t o l d m e h e r e , n o t so long a g o , that sh e said you know, C h r is , there's s o m e of y o u r old stuff left in there a n d i t ' s s t ill w o r k ing, t h a t ' s t h e only one w e don 't have any t rouble w it h . H e bought all n e w . . . . H e d o n ' t . . . . . H e hasn't a clue I don't th ink . He's j us t a bus ine s s m a n , h e just operates a business. The t e lephone c o m pany came t o m e and sa i d if you take t he ans w e r ing boar d s , he said, w e ; ll give you an a ns w e r ing board and w e w o n ' t p u t any m o r e i n F o rt E r i e . Y ou ' v e got a n e x c l u s i v e r igh t . N o b o d y could c o m e i n . N o b o d y c o u l d c o m e in a n d s t a r t u p a b u s i n e s s becaus e , he s a i d , w e ' v e got f ive b o a r d s ou t in F o r t E r ie a n d h e s a id e v e r y one is los ing m o n e y , w e ' r e losing money . H e s a i d , so if you' l l take the boa r d , we'll concentrate all in one, h e said w e ' l l p u t a 30 0 p a i r c a b l e in, it'll cost 120 0 dolla r s , h e s a y s you pay h a l f a n d w e ' l l p a y h a l f , t h a t w as 6 0 0 dolla r s , I sa i d o k a y . W h en t h e y got t h r ough they s e n t m e a b ill f or 120 0 dolla r s . S o I called the m ( up a n d I s a i d , look i t , what goes on h e r e ? Y ou told me it w ou ld be 6 0 0 . H e says w e l l , h e s a id w e u n d e r e s t i m a t e d . I s a id that's j u s t too bad . I said I' m g o n n a p a y y o u 6 0 0 a n d t h a t ' s all I ' m gonna pay 21 �you . I said w h e n I quote f or a j o b , if I quote for a j o b a n d I say t w o thousand d o l l a r s a n d it c o s t s m e t h r e e , I s a y , I s t ill g o t t a d o i t for two thousand dolla r s . I s a id t ha t 's m y quote a n d t h a t ' s it a n d that' s _ all I' m gonna pay you . S o , h e s a id all r igh t , and that w a s i t . I said lookit , I s ay s , I d id n ' t want t he cables r u n n ing th rough my build ing . S o I said I put t h e fishes in so you could f ish t he w ir e i n . I sa i d your t ruck c o m e down h e r e and I said , w ith t he reel of w ire o n and they pulled u p t o t h e m a nhole a n d I said they hooked o n t o m y w ir e s a n d p u l l e d it t h r ou gh , I s a i d , they w e r e n ' t a half a n hou r pu t t ing t h e wire in and I s a id I d i d n ' t charge you for that , I s a id they d id n ' t h a v e t o fas t e n a t h in g . A ll they had to d o was hook on to the w ire a n d pull it t h rough . I s a i d okay. When they got all finished and w e had no s e r v ice . . . . . b o y oh boy , w e had n o phone s , w e w e re w ithout phones f o r about 6 o r 7 h ou r s , if anybody h a d a fire, if anybody w a n t e d a doctor, they couldn't get t h e m . I h a d all t he doctors a n d t h e F ir e D e pa r t m e n t a n d alot of bus inesses on there, plu m be r s a n d th ings l i k e that , t h e y w e r e on it . If you w a n t e d t h e m . . . When you calle d , y ou 1go t o u r office a n d then we'd hook the m th rough t o the . . . . . if they w e r e t h e r e . D o c t o r s w o n ' t give out t h e i r phone ( n u m be r s , you can't phone a doctor at h is h o m e , but they w o u l d ph one a n d w e ' d a n s w e r the phone and say i t ' s D o c t o r S o - a n d - s o s office . . . . I' d l ike t o s peak t o t h e Doct or . . . . . Wh at do you want , j u s t a m o m e n t . . . . . W e ' d put t he m on h o l d , call t h e d o c t o r a n d say t h e r e ' s a c e r t a in party o n t h e l ine and t h e y ' d say, Tell them t o g o to t h e h o s p it a l , they' d m e e t t h e m t h e r e o r s o m e t i m e s , v e r y few of t h e m w o u l d s a y w e ll put t h e m on t he l i n e , so w e ' d cu t t h r ough a n d they could t alk to the m , but there was very few d o c t o r s that w ould do that . I th ink D r . D o c h e r t y is t h e only D r . in t o w n t h a t ' s got h is h o m e phone n u m be r l i s t e d in the book . I t was q u i t e an e x p e r ie nce we had t h e r e . S o m e t h ing new w e ' d never done b e fo r e . I pu a s y s t e m in at P ra t t & L a m be r t s that at f ive o'clock at n ight e ve ry b ody w e n t h o m e , a n d t h e p l a n t w a s i n f u ll p r o d u c t io n . If anyth ing w e n t w rong, it w o u l d s ignal m y o f f i c e t h a t t h e r e w a s t rouble . W e ' d c a l l t h e m a intenance m an a n d they' d go d o w n a n d w h e n they got i n t o t h e i r offic e they c o u l d l o o k u p a n d see what mach ine it w a s a n d they could go a n d f i x i t . Th a t ' s all a w a t ch ma n d o e s . H e finds ou t ( w h a t ' s w ro n g , h e c a n ' t fix anyth ing, h e ' s got t a call the m a intenance man. I d i d that a P ra t t & L a m be r t and I d i d it at L u c idol C h e m ical 22 �C o m pany, w h e n A l S pe a r w a s m anaging, I put it in up there . Then they wanted m e t o go over t o B u f falo a n d d o it over t he re . I cou ldn ' t ( s e e go ing over t o Buffalo, it w a s a ve r y f oolish m istake I m a de , I s h o u l d have r e n t e d t h e telephone ca b le f r o m B uffalo t o F o r t E r ie and I could have taken all t h e calls at F o rt E r ie a n d d ispatched the m e n out fro m h e r e . B u t i t w a s one th ing that slipped m y m in d and I n e v e r e v e n thought a b o u t it unt il I was out of busines s . I could have done that q u i t e e a s i l y , I ' d have had an awful b u s in e s s over there b e c a u s e they . . . . . . . . L u c idol w a n t e d m e t o go u p t he re t o R oches t e r , s e e , t h e i r plant b l e w up . . . . . . . big hole in the ground when their plant blew a n d t h e y m oved r ight out into a populated a r e a , I th ink they k illed about 7 o r 8 people on t h e street a n d w recked I forget h o w m any homes w h e n it blew . W e h a d t o put all t h e safety e qu i p m e n t in for t h e m . W e never had any proble m s w ith o u r s y s te m , our s y s t e m w o r k e d real good a n d w e n e v e r . . . . . . w e had t o des ign eve ryth ing ourselves and build it because n o b o d ie s done it before . D.M: I t w a s n ice talk ing to you C h r is . C.R: W e had alot o f f u n i n t h i s t o w n anyway . { [ A s I was leav ing C h r i s ' s h ou s e , he r e m a rk e d that he w a s t h e k in d of g u y who w h e n h e got u p in t he m o r n ing , he h a d noth ing t o d o , but w h e n h e w e n t t o bed at n igh t , h e o n l y had it half done ! ] ( 23 � Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Crystal Beach Subject The topic of the resource Crystal Beach, Ontario Description An account of the resource Select historical photos and documents digitized from the Fort Erie local history and Louis McDermott collections Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived FEPL -LH - Archives Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Fort Erie Public Library and Louis McDermott Document A resource containing textual data. Note that facsimiles or images of texts are still of the genre text. Interviewer The person(s) performing the interview. Diana Matthews Interviewee The person(s) being interviewed. Christopher Wren Location The location of the interview. Mr. Wren's home at 36 Concession Road Original Format If the image is of an object, state the type of object, such as painting, sculpture, paper, photo, and additional data Cassette tape Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Oral History - Wren, Christopher Description An account of the resource Provided here is Christopher Wren's interview. He discusses such topic as: Peace Bridge Railroad Recreation Erie Beach Old Fort Crystal Beach Amusement Park Factories and Industry Fleet Blizzard of '77 Fire Department Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived Fort Erie Public Library Local History Collection Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource April 10, 1985 1980s 1985 Blizzard of '77 Crystal Beach amusement park Erie Beach factories and industry Fleet Fort Erie old fort Oral history peace bridge railroad recreation transcripts