Posts with the Calgary Herald tag

Barris Beat

What sustains Canada’s small towns

Written by Ted Barris on . 1 Comment
The Hive in Nanton – just one of many attractions created by local entrepreneurs.

Whenever I get the chance to visit other provinces, I find myself gravitating to smaller towns. Last week, I was travelling through southern Alberta on a public-speaking tour. One of the places where I’d been invited to speak was Nanton (population 2,000), about an hour’s drive south of Calgary.

While there, my host invited me to lunch at a new eatery in town called The Hive. It was part vendors’ shop and part truck-stop café. Inside I was introduced to owner/operator, Kristen Hall.

“Welcome to The Hive,” she said. “It’s what’s buzzing in town.”

I rolled my eyes and groaned.

“It’s always a good idea to start your visit with a laugh,” she said. “Enjoy your stay.” (more…)

Barris Beat

Plea for the profession!

Written by Ted Barris on . Leave a comment
Prior to Remembrance Day 2019, Catherine Lang remembers her niece, journalist Michelle Lang. Vancouver Sun.

I didn’t recognize her immediately. I should have. But, back in 2013, while attending an annual general meeting of The Writers’ Union of Canada in Ottawa, a woman approached me and she asked if we could share a coffee and some conversation. Since most of the AGMs I attend are often about reflection, I naturally agreed. That’s when I realized who this woman was.

“I’m Catherine Lang,” she said, “the aunt of Michelle Lang, the Canadian journalist killed in the Afghanistan War.”

My expressions of condolence were heartfelt and Catherine was generous in her gratitude of them. But she had greater expectations from our chat than just my recognizing the loss of her adult niece. (more…)

Barris Beat

Not only journalists die

Written by Ted Barris on . Leave a comment
Calgary Herald (Postmedia) reporter Michelle Lang in Afghanistan.

I’ve never worked in a war zone, the way some from Canada have. I’ve never pursued the crime beat so seriously as to encounter violence face-to-face. I’ve never been physically assaulted while carrying out my work as a journalist. The closest I’ve come to confrontation occurred back in the 1980s, when an oil company representative trying to keep the physical and media lid on a drilling-rig blowout in the Alberta oil patch, told me to remove myself from their property.

“Leave,” the company spokesman said, “or I’ll have you arrested!” (more…)