Changing the world one story at a time®
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Table of Contents
Introduction, Janet Matthews
~Welcome Home~
1. My Canadian Dream, Rahaf Bi
2. Best Surprise Ever! Brooke and Keira Elliott
3. Fort McMurray Strong, Paula L. Gillis
4. Just in Time, A. A. Adourian
5. Our Syrian Family, Anne Phillips
6. Plane People, Shirley Brooks-Jones
7. Welcome to Canada, Wendy D. Poole
8. Christmas in Canada, Barbara Bondy-Pare
9. Living Abroad in Canada, Jennifer Caseley
10. This Village Called Canada, Lesley Marcovich
~Canada Day~
11. A Centennial Project, Wayne Boldt
12. The Ultimate Playlist, Kim Reynolds
13. Canada Day in the Governor’s Canoe, Janet Matthews
14. Many Shovels, Patricia Miller
15. Canada Day North of Terrace, DG Peterson
16. A Birthday Cake for Canada, Lisa Reynolds
~A Nation of Helping Hands~
17. The Wedding Dress, Élise Phillippo
18. Still Good, Michelle Dinnick
19. Twelve Days of Kindness, Janet Seever
20. Night on Grouse Mountain, Janet Matthews
21. Because of Bob, Leslie Lorette
22. Shipwreck, Sharon Lawrence
23. The Red Phone, N. Newell
24. An Inukshuk to Guide Me Home, Lacy Gray
~Honouring Those Who Served~
25. On the Highway of Heroes, Deborah Lean
26. Pilgrimage to Holland, Cheryl E. Uhrig
27. The Christening Gown, Chris Robertson
28. The Trouble with Dad, Alma Barkman
29. VE Day on Bay Street, G. Norman Patterson
30. All in Vain? Walter Sawchuk
31. A Bloom of Friendship, Anne Renaud
32. A Poppy for Remembrance, Nicole L.V. Mullis
33. The Night We Were All Just Canadian, Rob Harshman
~We’re All in This Together~
34. The 2010 Winter Olympics, Gerri Nicholas
35. The Flood of the Century, Erin McLeod
36. Bonding at the Rink, Julia Lucas
37. Stranded at Big Sandy, Alma Barkman
38. Found in the Fire, Carla White
39. Conversation Circle, Durre N. Jabeen
40. Christmas Ice Storm, Nada Mazzei
41. The Hunt Camp, Mary Lee Moynan
42. Keeping Up with the Newfies, Patti Leo Bath
43. Helping Hands, Tanya Ambrose
44. When It’s Maple Sugar Time, Nancy Loucks-McSloy
~Into the Wild~
45. Storyteller Lost and Found, John J. Seagrave
46. A Taste of the Wild, Linda Mehus-Barber
47. Standing Bear, Bradley A. Rudner
48. Four Seasons in Moosonee, Elizabeth Kranz
49. Where Ravens Fly Backwards, Rose Burke
50. Season of the Fly, Bonnie Lavigne
51. The One That Got Away, Mitchell Kastanek
52. My Log Home Critters, Frances R. McGuckin
53. Tattler Lake Tales, C.S. O’Cinneide
54. Up Close and Personal, Lisa Timpf
~Rising to the Occasion~
55. Perspective by Fire, Anthony Hoffman
56. Running Water, Carla Crema
57. This Is How We Do It, Frances R. McGuckin
58. The Bad Marmot, Jane Everett
59. The Greatest Goal, Lynn Dove
60. The Night the Lights Went Out, Glenice Wilson
61. Rescue on Penn Lake, Janet Matthews
62. All You Need Is Duct Tape and Beer, John Silver
63. Dancing a Northwoods Ballet, Zabe MacEachren
64. The Sourtoe Cocktail Club, Julie Hamel de Belle
~Living a Dream~
65. The Ice Pond of My Dreams, Lorette Smith
66. The Viking Voyageur, Peter G. Elliott
67. Sampo Girl, Liisa Kovala
68. The Best Play He Never Saw, S. Nadja Zajdman
69. The Red Mittens, Sherry Taylor Cummins
70. I Just Wanted to Play, John Karl Forrest
71. A Canadian First, Elizabeth Smayda
72. The Waterspout at White Otter Castle, Peter G. Elliott
73. Temporary Town, Krista McCracken
~Our Canadian Heroes~
74. Terry’s Legacy, Jacqueline Pearce
75. Our P.E.T., S. Nadja Zajdman
76. Sid, Please Sign My Jersey, Darryl Pottie
77. Joni and Me, Kristine Groskaufmanis
78. Never Give Up on Your Dreams, Binnie Brennan
79. Keep Moving, James Barrera
80. The Album, Donna Fawcett
81. Backyard Memories, Melanie Naundorf
82. Terry Fox — Our Greatest Hero, Dennis McCloskey
~Grateful to Be Canadian~
83. The Belated Canadian, Cathy Mogus
84. The Humbling, Marya Morin
85. My Home, Sweet Home, Glynis M. Belec
86. Our Yard, a Canadian Tale, Deborah Cannon
87. Remembrance Tears, A. A. Adourian
88. The Last Night of the Proms, Pamela Kent
89. Finding Canada, Liz Maxwell Forbes
90. One Essential Ingredient, Robyn Gerland
91. A Canadian Epiphany, Shawn O’Brien
92. I Was a Teenaged Separatist, Mark Leiren-Young
93. A Special Retirement, Glenice Wilson
~How the World Views Canada~
94. A Trip to Remember, Isolde Ryan
95. My Australian Introduction to Team Canada, Laura Snell
96. A Father’s Stories Come to Life, Linda Maendel
97. My Big Country, Kathy Ashby
98. Sorry, Not Sorry, Megan Pothier
99. With Glowing Hearts, Lydia A. Calder
100. The Woman on the Bus, Stella Shepard
101. A Lesson in Germany, Janice M. McDonald
Meet Our Contributors
Meet Amy Newmark
Meet Janet Matthews
Thank You
Introduction
This special year of 2017 is Canada’s sesquicentennial! Now that’s a big word — and a challenge for most of us to even say, let alone spell. But it means that this year Canada turns 150 years old. On July 1st we celebrate 150 years of Confederation and, in keeping with this celebratory theme, I’m honoured and excited to have been asked to co-author this special edition, Chicken Soup for the Soul: The Spirit of Canada. In this collection you will find 101 wonderful stories that celebrate who we are as Canadians, and here at Chicken Soup for the Soul it is our contribution to Canada 150.
We began with no idea what people might write that would reflect their feelings about “The Spirit of Canada.” But after a few months of reading stories I felt a unique consciousness beginning to form around the project as a whole. I’m a musician, and as I sat alone at my desk working with the stories, organizing them into chapters, I started to feel like I was working inside a symphony — fine tuning the themes, organizing the movements. I could almost hear the music — a distinct sound that began to emanate from the collection and touched me deeply.
The stories in this book are as diverse as the people who make up this magnificent country. Yet regardless of the topic or where the author comes from, the golden thread that runs through them all is the love and the gratitude that Canadians have for this country. For the freedom and those who have fought for it, the abundance, the many opportunities, the richness of the land, our modern cities, our ancient wilderness, the harsh beauty of our far north, the simple civility and kindness Canadians are known for, how we are regarded in other part
s of the world, and the welcome we give to newcomers.
As Canadians, we’ve never been known for being noisily patriotic. It’s just not our way. But perhaps that has been subtly changing in the last decade or so, and that change seems to be reflected in many of these stories, particularly when it comes to our national anthem. Today, as we sing “O Canada” it is no longer by rote as many of us did in school, but with a new kind of emotion and a deep gratitude.
When it comes to our beloved song “O Canada,” Lesley Marcovich wrote what is for me the ultimate story about our anthem — and what it really means. Lesley came with her family from South Africa many years ago, and her passion for her chosen country truly touches my heart. In her story, “This Village Called Canada,” she takes us to a school gymnasium where an audience has assembled for the school’s spring concert. They begin by singing “O Canada,” and with each line of the song she invites us into a deeper understanding of the words and what they mean to us right here, right now. Using flashbacks to the challenges of her old life in South Africa, she takes us on a journey of such deep insight and appreciation that it brings me to tears each time I read it.
You can see this new passion for Canada most obviously on Canada Day, when all generations of Canadians come together in a joyous sea of red and white to celebrate with festivities and fireworks and proudly sing. In Chapter 2 you will find stories about the different ways Canadians celebrate Canada Day in different parts of the country. In her story, “Canada Day North of Terrace,” author DG Peterson shares the time she headed north out of Vancouver with her son in a big rig to deliver a huge generator to power Canada Day celebrations in the remote northern community of Gingolx. Her breathtaking story of Canada Day with the First Nations shows so clearly how diverse we truly are in our experiences, in our communities, and how we celebrate across this great land. During the formal festivities, when she heard a muffled sound coming from the direction of the mountains, she stared in stunned disbelief at what she saw emerge from around a bend in the road. I won’t spoil that one for you — you just have to read it and let your spine tingle the way mine did when I first read it.
One of the biggest displays in recent years of our love for Canada happened during the 2010 Vancouver Olympics. During those sixteen days, in downtown Vancouver that joyous mob of red and white was a daily occurrence. In Chapter 5 Gerri Nicholas shares her own story, “The 2010 Winter Olympics,” which included viewing the gold medal hockey game from a café on Robson Street and watching Sidney “Sid the Kid” Crosby score his gold medal goal. She was there to witness and participate in the unbridled joy that erupted and consumed the fans. It was a great day for Canada — and she shares it all with us.
When it comes to Sidney Crosby, I think Darryl Pottie tells us the ultimate Sid the Kid story. Darryl and his family had recently moved to Enfield, Nova Scotia, not far from Sidney Crosby’s home in Cole Harbour. Neighbours had reported that Sid would sometimes travel the area during the summer while at home. Darryl had admired this gifted hockey player and followed his career for years. Excited by the possibilities, he got creative and made a big sign that he put out by the road inviting Sid to come and sign his jersey. One day while at work he received an e-mail from his wife with a photo attached. When Darryl finally figured out what the photo meant he started yelling out loud, “HE’S IN MY HOUSE, HE’S IN MY HOUSE!” Darryl was more than happy to share the full story of that exciting day when one of our Canadian hockey heroes made a fan’s dream come true. You can read Darryl’s story, “Sid, Please Sign My Jersey,” in Chapter 9.
Speaking of having a dream come true, in Chapter 8, I was particularly inspired by Lorette Smith’s story, “The Ice Pond of My Dreams.” As a young girl Lorette had been a passionate ice skater and she particularly loved skating outdoors on frozen ponds. In fact, she had a dream to travel and skate on the most beautiful frozen rivers and ice ponds in the world. She grew up, got married and became the mother of five, and her dreams of travelling and skating on faraway frozen ponds was all but forgotten. Many years later her son was transferred to work in Ottawa and invited her to visit. And so it happened that at age eighty, Lorette found herself lacing up her old skates and heading out to skate the full length of the Rideau Canal — and then back. And then she did it again. If you have a dream that somehow you’ve let go of, I invite you to read Lorette’s passionate story of a dream finally realized — and be inspired to go make your own dream happen.
This past year brought several huge events into the minds and hearts of all Canadians. The first was the Syrian refugee crisis. The news stories brought the plight of modern day refugees into sharp relief as around the world people struggled to come to grips with how to respond. Canada is unique in this regard — as we have a program that allows individual citizens and organizations like churches to sponsor refugees. Money must be raised, but it also means that when refugees arrive they are guided and helped to get on their feet, and their sponsors coach and mentor them into their new lives in Canada.
In Chapter 1 Rahaf Bi tells her personal story of leaving war-torn Syria. She was prepared to try the dangerous boat escape that was causing so much loss of life, when her Canadian cousin dissuaded her, and offered instead to sponsor her. Rahaf’s dramatic escape from Syria and eventual arrival and welcome at her new home in Kelowna, British Columbia entitled “My Canadian Dream” is sure to touch you. And, told in Rahaf’s own voice, it’s the first story in the book.
Anne Phillips of Uxbridge, Ontario is part of a church congregation that along with a group of other churches sponsored five Syrian refugee families. Each church was responsible for one aspect of helping a family settle in and feel welcomed in Canada. Anne shares her own experience of meeting their family, helping them with some simple furniture for their new home, and how life changing it was for her and for many others to realize these were ordinary people who, just like them, had families and dreams for their children to live safely and freely. But unlike them, their lives had been ripped apart by a dreadful war. “Our Syrian Family” is also in Chapter 1, and I hope it makes you as proud to be Canadian as it does me.
The other recent event that filled our hearts was the huge fire in Fort McMurray; it devastated and changed the lives of so many people, and Canadians everywhere immediately stepped up to help. There are several stories in this book that open dramatic windows into that event, but in Chapter 7, “Perspective by Fire” from firefighter Anthony Hoffman is unique. Anthony grew up in Fort McMurray and when his parents retired and moved away, he rented out his own condo and moved back into his family home to renovate it. On the morning of the fire he takes you with him through the emotional roller coaster of fighting the fire while, from the roof of the hospital, he watches his city burn. From this dramatic vista, looking in one direction he can see that his condo has burned. When he looks in the other direction he realizes that his family home has also been destroyed. Knowing he has just lost everything, he must dig deep and, in the midst of his own personal pain, somehow find the strength to keep going, to keep doing his job and fighting the fire so that others will not suffer the same loss. The new perspective he finds from this experience is life changing — and we think it will touch you as much as it touched us.
The moving stories in Chapter 4 honour Canadians who have served. In her story, “A Bloom of Friendship,” author Anne Renaud connects a modern day event in Ottawa — the Canadian Tulip Festival — with its origins at the end of World War II. Anne recounts her uncle’s story of being in Holland with Canadian troops during the Liberation of The Netherlands. But it was only after he returned from the 1995 anniversary celebrations that he finally shared his story with her. She learned then that the Dutch have never forgotten the pivotal role Canadians played in their liberation from the Nazis and how, during the war, Canada provided safe haven for their Royal Family. In 1945 their gratitude was expressed by a gift of 100,000 tulip bulbs from the Dutch Monarchy, the genesis of the Canadian Tulip Festival. But what most Canadi
ans don’t realize is that 20,000 tulip bulbs still arrive in Canada every year — a gift of thanks that will continue in perpetuity. Anne’s efforts to make sure this story is remembered by future generations of Canadian children — as it is by all Dutch children — include writing a book by the same name as this short story. We think her story beautifully exemplifies in every way our theme — The Spirit of Canada.
On a lighter note, in Chapter 6 we’ve gathered together some great stories about how Canadians love the wilderness: the camping, the canoeing, the wildlife — and Canada’s far north. Then in Chapter 7, about “rising to the occasion,” John Silver from Orillia, Ontario tells us a classic Canadian tale of six friends, three canoes, some white water, a case of beer and a roll of duct tape. I don’t want to spoil the fun for you but when the canoe gets damaged going down the rapids, the ingenuity required to keep it afloat delighted me. The image of the newly customized “Canadian Canoe” atop their roof carrier on the way home attracted the amused attention of passing motorists, and inspired many hours of retelling this fun tale over coffee at Tim Hortons. We hope you enjoy John’s story, “All You Need Is Duct Tape and Beer,” because here too you will find The Spirit of Canada.
And finally in Chapter 11, in her story, “A Trip to Remember,” Isolde Ryan tells us about a motorcycle trip she took with her husband and other soldiers from the Canadian Armed Forces base in Germany. On this trip the motorcycle club was coming down from the Swiss Alps and rode into a small Italian village. There they encountered people who were so grateful to see these Canadians they laid out a spread of food and drink for them in the village square. It seemed that back in the 1970s an enormous earthquake had devastated their village, and Canadians were the first to arrive with help. The grateful villagers finally saw their chance to thank Canadians, and this astonished group were the lucky recipients. Isolde’s lovely story highlights the help and generosity that Canadians are known for around the world, and how they are welcomed everywhere.
These days, whether we were born here, or whether we chose this country, most Canadians are very aware of how fortunate we are to be Canadian. The love we feel for this country, the gratitude I hear expressed by so many people everywhere I go — are never far from the surface any more. Yes, we feel proud — especially when Canada does something that makes us proud. Like being a role model for the world in how to help desperate refugees. Or responding quickly to a crisis in our own country by helping our fire-devastated Alberta neighbours. But more than proud, I find people are grateful. And the 101 stories in this book truly express that. Because the one theme that weaves its way through this book is the passionate love that all Canadians have for this land that offers so much. We hope these stories will inspire you, touch your heart and make you smile. Perhaps you will be reminded of your own stories of what Canada means to you, and why we truly are the most fortunate people in the world. After all, we are Canadians!