Posts with the Midland tag

Barris Beat

Phoney spring

Written by Ted Barris on . Leave a comment
Ice fishing is only part of the attraction.

None of my family members – as much as they love me – wanted to consider what I was saying this week was possible. Certainly, my friends won’t believe me either. But I was up in a part of Ontario the weather forecasters call Huronia. It’s that stretch of the Georgian Bay shoreline that runs from about Victoria Harbour to Penetanguishene. Actually, it was along the Midland, Ont., waterfront. And when I got there to visit a friend, last Saturday, I looked at the bay in front of his home and said we had to walk.

“It’s my chance to walk on water,” I told him in fun. (more…)

Barris Beat

How to get there

Written by Ted Barris on . Leave a comment
So I looked for...
I figured I could just follow the orange detour signs.

Earlier this week, I paid a visit to Midland, Ontario. The Askennonia Senior Centre had invited me to do a keynote speech for the annual Veterans’ Luncheon there. Not a problem, except that the Bruce Peninsula is not a region of the province through which I travel often. I wasn’t familiar with the roads. To make matters slightly more challenging, travelling up Highway 400 and in search of Hwy 93 (the route to Midland) that day I suddenly faced a problem.

“Exit to Hwy 93 closed,” the sign read. “Follow detour signs.”

(more…)

Barris Beat

A “Where were you when…” moment

Written by Ted Barris on . Leave a comment
Reporter J. Frank Willis interviews mine with the rescue team at the Moose River mine cave-in, April 1936. He is speaking to more than 100 million people on radio stations across Canada, the U.S. and Britain.
Reporter J. Frank Willis interviews miner with the rescue team at the Moose River mine cave-in, in Nova Scotia, in April 1936. His non-stop broadcasts on the Canadian Radio Broadcasting Commission are being heard by more than 100 million people on radio stations across Canada, the U.S. and Britain.

You’ve probably never heard of Luis Iribarren. Or Claudio Lagos. And you’ll likely never run across Dario Rojo in your lifetime. But, in fact, you do know them, all of them. They are three of the 33 men trapped in the Chilean mine since Aug. 5. For the record, you probably remember the very first words that Iribarren spoke to the world on Aug. 22.

“We are well,” he said through a communication line, “and we are hoping that you will rescue us.”

(more…)