2nd Issue February 2012

February, 2012
VOL 1 # ISSUE # 2
GreenWoodStock - Talk 2012
Community Centre to be Ready by June
(Reprint of an article from “Wings Over Greenwood” Jan 15th, 1965)
Cost Expected to be $300,000
Prior to leaving for his new post at Canadian Forces Headquarters, Group
Captain R. A. Gordon, announced the signing of a contract to build a
quarter of a million dollar Community Centre at R.C.A.F. Station
Greenwood.
The need for an additional recreation outlet was caused by the rapid growth
Register early for this once-in-aGreenwood-lifetime event
Well here we are and it’s February
already, and it’s Reunion Year!
Only six months left to
Greenwoodstock and time is going fast.
As this was being written in midJanuary, we had 490 members in our
Facebook Group, and probably another
30 to 50 people on our email
notification list.
Everything is in full swing with most
plans coming together nicely.
Due to a lot of interest, we are working
on a BBQ event for Saturday afternoon,
and once we’re able to finalize the
details, we’ll bring you up to speed.
The registration forms are just about
complete and then we can proceed
with registrations. We hope to send
that out around the first week in
February, so watch your email for the
latest and greatest.
Our website will have a registration
section where you can all see who is
registered as their forms are received.
Stay tuned …Darrell
of Station Greenwood which outstripped the recreational facilities which
are available. Station personnel and dependents now total approximately
8000 people, making Greenwood the largest Nova Scotia Community west
of Truro.
The Community Centre was designed by an Ontario firm of building
consultants. It is being built under sub-contract, by a Maritime company,
utilizing a large percentage of Valley labour.
The cost of the Centre is expected to be in the region of $300,000, will be
financed by Greenwood Community funds.
Plans for the Centre call for a two hundred by seventy-five foot concrete
block and wood construction. The main portion of the building will consist
of a gymnasium-auditorium, complete with stage. There will be eight
bowling alleys in the basement with space for an additional four lanes. The
Centre will also house games rooms, a snack bar, various offices,
washroom and changing facilities and a library.
The new Community Centre will be located outside the Station on Chapel
Road. Construction is now underway and project engineer, Flying Officer
Dick Farmer, anticipates completion by early June.
www.annapolisvalley.com/reunion
GreenWoodStock - Talk 2012
February, 2012
VOL 1 ISSUE 2
Uncle Shelly’s Childhood Memories
fighting with, and one from my Mom for fighting with my good clothes on.
By Sheldon LaLonde
During the ’60s there was no mention of West Nile virus but mosquitoes were still deemed to
Sit back, relax and let your mind walk with me as I stroll
spring with the bug sprayer, a tractor pulling a monstrous fogger that spewed billowing white
down memory lane, back to a simpler time when we
clouds of toxic fog.
were children. Back to a time before the Internet, iPods
and smart phones.
be pests and their eradication seemed to be of great importance. It usually started in late
We didn’t know what the concoction was, probably a mixture of kerosene, DDT and who
knows what else. Knowing what the fog contained probably would not have kept us from
Back to the 1960s, to a place nestled in Nova Scotia’s
running through it. I often wonder why I’ve never suffered any ill effects, never suffered any
Annapolis Valley.
ill effects, never suffered any ill effects...
Terrorism had not yet become a part of our vocabulary;
There was no need to run to the store for essentials, as they came to you. Milk, in glass
we had the Cold War. Most households had only one
bottles no less, was delivered door-to-door. The empty and washed milk bottle would be
income, one phone and one television set. The phone
placed outside on the doorstep at night or early in the morning, complete with the appropriate
was black and had a dial, the TV was black and white
money in it. Some of us hateful little beggars saw this as a source of income! The source of
and it too had a dial. There was no need for the remote
income soon dried up as the dairy introduced metal tokens that sat on the top of the bottle. I
as we only got one channel, the CBC!
recall my Dad buying a month’s worth of milk tokens for about $13.
Being allowed to watch TV was a big thing and we were
Those who lived in or around the lodges probably remember Mr. Lombard and his brother
never glued to it; there was always someone there to say,
Charlie who sold fruits, vegetables and eggs out of the back of their half ton. He always gave
“You kids get the hell outside.”
the kids candy and no one had to check it before we ate it.
I remember watching shows like, The Friendly Giant,
Who, as a kid, didn’t make at least one attempt to run away from home? I did so at an early
with Rusty the hen and Jerome the giraffe. Saturday
age, loading up my CTC Express wagon with all my worldly possessions and hitting the road
morning cartoons and, of course, Hockey Night In
for places unknown. My travels took me about 300 yards from home when one of the
Canada with Foster Hewitt. On Sundays we could stay
neighbourhood kids thought it would be funny to dump my canteen of water. Surviving on
up late and watch the Ed Sullivan Show but only if Topo
the open road without water was not an option, so I swallowed what pride I had, cried some
Gigo was on. Then there was the Beatles’ North
tears and sulked all the way back home. Apparently, I had not been gone long enough to be
American debut in 1964. Bonanza, Have Gun Will
missed.
Travel and the Lone Ranger also come to mind.
Greenwood was a great place if you wanted to play minor hockey. All the equipment was
Most Moms at that time were “domestic engineers” and
provided with the exception of skates, sticks, and in later years, a cup. You could buy a
always seemed to be home. Who in the ’60s didn’t know
Hespler or Victoriaville stick for less than two bucks. Skates were sharpened at the arena for
a momentary touch of fear when they came home from
25 cents, I might have gotten a freebie or two as our neighbour, Mr. Atkinson, sometimes ran
school and hollered, “Mom, I’m home!” and there was
the sharpener. Our helmets were hard; leather lined with felt and only covered the very front
no immediate response? Within seconds of getting
of our heads and a portion of the back. Funny, I don’t recall any concussions but then again
home I would hear Mom’s voice: “Get your good
loss of recall is a symptom.
clothes off!” In those days, I had but two sets of clothes,
one for school and one for play. Many were the days I’d
get into a fight at school or on the way home. This
would result in two beatings; one from the guy I was my
In the location of the current water tank near the lodges there used to be two wooden water
towers similar to the ones seen on Petticoat Junction. These were equipped with a sliding
indicator to show the water level in the tank. The indicator was a block of wood pointed at
either end that slid within a scale marked like a thermometer. I don’t recall the mechanics
behind its operation but we had fun climbing the tower, grabbing onto the pointer and riding
it down. Loss of grip and subsequent falls were not uncommon. One guy would be on
lookout for the Station Police (SPs).
My Generation– The Who
GreenWoodStock - Talk 2012
February, 2012
VOL 1 ISSUE 2
Bong Fever - By Sheldon LaLonde
Reunions Past & Present, Submitted by Louise Drolet Sproul
It was a dark and stormy night.
Actually, it was 10:06 the morning of January 8, 2012.
A seemingly innocuous post was placed on the
Greenwood Reunion Facebook page. What started as a
friendly and somewhat humorous reminder for
members of the group to “play nice with others,” took on
a life of its own.
The simple process of changing an “L” to a “B” in the
word ‘long’ created a response that, although it does not
rival the Guinness record of 389,141 comments for a
single post, does deserve some notoriety.
Within nine minutes of the initial post the letter
substitution commenced. Popular songs and artists
from the 1960s and ’70s being the main subject. This
trend continued, albeit briefly, when out of nowhere,
Bong Fever gripped this closed group.
By the time this article hits the newsletter the comments
for this post will undoubtedly hit or exceed 500. (It
surpassed 500 posts January 12 @ 4:15 p.m., then
topped 1,000 just 10 days later, Jan. 22 @ 3:57 p.m.,
Manitoba time; so 5:57 in G’wood – Ed.)
To an outsider the comments posted may appear to be
the work of prepubescent children or possibly teens
under the influence of mind-altering substances. Neither
is the case as people, who for the most part, have seen
over a half-century of life, provided these comments.
They are all, except yours truly, well-educated with most
being parents and grandparents.
One may ask why these mature individuals have succumbed
to what some may deem as mindless banter. The answer lies
in their past. Many from this group are reconnecting with
friends and acquaintances from their formative, coming-ofage years. The comments within this particular thread help
strengthen those connections. It is not the content of the
comment but the simple act of being involved that provides
the attraction.
Knowing that you are free to provide any variation you
wish, provided you use the word bong, and not be judged
allows us to “let our hair down.” This is, of course, a
figurative term for many in the group!
Members of this group also know that they are among
friends, some of whom they have yet to meet in person.
They all share a common thread centered around
Greenwood during the years 1963 to 1973.
The relatively small group of enterprising individuals who
set out to organize this reunion and create the Facebook
group are deserving of our sincere gratitude for enabling us
to strengthen what were for many, weak or broken bonds of
friendship.
I wonder what Sigmund Freud would have to say about this,
probably: “Sie sind aller verrückt!”*
(* They are displaced all – Ed.)
Every five years as summertime nears, an announcement arrives in the mail.
A reunion is planned; it’ll be really grand so make plans to attend without fail!
I’ll never forget the first time we met, we tried so hard to impress.
We drove fancy cars, smoked big cigars and wore our most elegant dress.
It was quite an affair; the whole class was there, it was held at a fancy hotel.
We wined and we dined and we acted refined and everyone thought it was swell.
The men all conversed about who had been first to achieve great fortune and fame.
Meanwhile, their spouses described their fine houses and how beautiful their children
became.
The Homecoming Queen, who once had been lean, now weighed in at one-ninety-six.
The jocks who were there had all lost their hair and the cheerleaders could no longer do kicks.
No one had heard about the class nerd who’d guided a spacecraft to the moon;
or poor little Jane, who’d always been plain; she married a shipping tycoon!
The boy we’d decreed “most apt to succeed” was serving 10 years in the pen,
while the one voted “least” now was a priest. Just shows you can be wrong now and then.
They awarded a prize to one of the guys who seemed to have aged the least.
Another was given to the grad who had driven the farthest to attend the feast
They took a class picture, a curious mixture of beehives, crew cuts and wide ties.
Tall, short or skinny, the style was the mini; you never saw so many thighs.
At our next get-together, no one cared whether they impressed their classmates or not.
The mood was informal, a whole lot more normal; by this time we’d all gone to pot.
It was held out-of-doors, at the lake shores; we ate hamburgers, coleslaw and beans.
Then most of us laid around in the shade in our comfortable t-shirts and jeans.
By the fiftieth year, it was abundantly clear, we were definitely over the hill;
those who weren’t dead had to crawl out of bed, and be home in time for their pill.
And now I can’t wait, they’ve set the date; our sixtieth is coming, I’m told.
It should be a ball; they’ve rented a hall at the Shady Rest Home for the old!
Repairs have been made on my hearing aid; my pacemaker’s been turned up on high.
My wheelchair is oiled and my teeth have been boiled and I’ve bought a new wig and glass eye.
I’m feeling quite hearty and I’m ready to party; I’m gonna dance ‘til dawn’s early light.
It’ll be lots of fun but I just hope that there’s at least one other person who can make it that
night!
– Author Unknown
(Thanks, Louise! Just a note to all Reunion members who wish to submit
articles/remembrances/insights/poems/love letters/etc. for future issues of Greenwoodstock
Talk (please, please do! – It’s a big hole to fill), please ensure they are exclusive to the newsletter
and have not previously appeared on the Facebook reunion page or the website. Thanks! — Ed.
Remembering when…
Morgue Door Was as Far as They Got - By Wendy Paula Maw
When we were about 14 years old, Brian Schofield Ken Clarke I all had our appendixes taken
out at the same time.
We were all in the same room (the sunroom) and one night we snuck down the back stairs to
the morgue.
Once we got there, though, no one had the courage to enter!
The nurses were frantic; they couldn't find us.
Boy, did we ever get yelled at.
Hot Fun In The Summertime - Sly & the Family
Stone
GreenWoodStock - Talk 2012
February, 2012
VOL 1 ISSUE 2
COME FLY WITH US – BY ALLAN SPROUL
Glossary of Terms - By Allan Sproul
An essential collection of expressions and phrases you’re likely to hear bandied about
at GreenWoodStock 2012. Or not...
1.) FAR OUT – Really great, totally swell, very nice
2.) GROOVY – Up to date, in style, very NOW!
3.) WHAT KEY – The question all the musicians will be asking each other on stage at
the reunion
4.) THEY’RE DONE – Someone please put the two Mikes in a cab
5.) THONGS – What the thingers will be thinging on thstage
6.) FISHNETS – The outer coverings of lobster traps
See Greenwood and the Valley from on-high
during Greenwoodstock!
7.) SKINS – The original drum coverings before the advent of electronic drums
A short while back, Wendy Paula Maw
expressed an interest in taking a flight
over Greenwood for a "Photo-Op" during
Greenwoodstock, Aug. 3-4.
9.) 45 – A small round disk which holds two songs. Not to be confused with the new
I have contacted Mr. Brian Goldie, the
owner of Greenwood Flight Center, located
in Waterville, and discussed the possibility
of doing Scenic tours over Greenwood. He
liked the idea and said he would contact
Base Greenwood to seek permission to fly
out of Greenwood thereby eliminating the
hassle of getting to Waterville. He can take
2-3 people at a time.
Saturday, Aug. 4 would be a great day to
fly and take up some time before the
festivities begin. The tours would last
about half an hour, but the option will be
available to go longer when you book your
flight.
For those who plan to book a flight: Let
the Greenwood Flight Centre people know
that you want to fly out of Greenwood and
not Waterville.
8.) CRANK – What the guitar players will want to constantly do to their amps at the
jam session
smaller disk that holds hundreds of songs
10.) LP – Large round disk that holds six songs on each side. Again, not to be confused
with new smaller disk that holds hundreds of songs
11.) EIGHT TRACK – A small recorded tape loop which could hold 12 to 15 songs.
Often worked great until tape stretched and then sounded like Leonard Cohen on
crack-cocaine. Often found in overhead compartments in hippy vans
12.) POLAROID – Newest ’60s technology in photography. Take picture, pull from
camera, wave in air for 60 secs, peel off covering, view out-of-focus picture
13.) G-STRING – From the top, the 4th string down on any standard guitar
14.) HICKEY – A blueish/purple wound normally inflicted to the nape of the neck on
unsuspecting females. Often found on hormonal teenage boys as well.
15.) EARTH SHOES – Normally a suede shoe with a crepe sole. The soles were installed
backwards, giving the wearer the feeling of falling backwards. Crepe soles would also melt
to automotive gas pedals of VWs when gas heaters could not be turned off.
16.) MARYJANE – The little girl's name in almost everyone's Grade 7 class.
17.) DOOBIE – What you hoped for when Miss Ellen would look through her magic
mirror on Romper Room. Chances were that she never called your name as a Good
Doobie.
18.) SAVE ME THE KILL – The last thing you heard before you threw your butt on the
ground.
19.) PAISLEY – Not to be confused with a modern day country star, this design
adorned many shirts, dresses, skirts, and even a rare dickie.
20.) THREE SMOKES – The going rate for a brand new, unwrapped LP,
February, 2012
VOL 1 ISSUE 2
Pictures of You –
By Duncan Armstrong
Photo Exhibition to feature Greenwood alumnus, 1963–’73
We are planning to make a slideshow to display at the reunion.
If you have any pictures of yourself from the 1963-73 era that you’d like to
share with the group during the event itself, please e-mail them to yours truly:
[email protected].
If you don't have access to a scanner feel free to mail them to me and I can scan
them for you. Contact me for mailing information; they will be returned to you
at the reunion.
Greenwoodstock Golf Tourney – By Mike Coughran
72 players needed for shotgun start
The first Greenwoodstock Golf Tournament is a confirmed go for
the Greenwood Golf Course on Saturday, August 4.
The cost per person will depend on whether we golf nine or 18
holes, and how many players turn out.
Costs are as follows:
• 9 Holes: $18.00 and a regular start at #1 Tee.
• 18 Holes: Less than 72 players, $ 26.00 and a start at # 1 Tee.
• 18 Holes: More than 72 players, $ 24.00 and a shot gun start
meaning teams will be assigned holes to go to for 0800 and I get
to blow the horn to start them off!
Golf carts: I would suggest people call ahead and book them. It
will cost a lot more to have them brought in on short notice.
Power carts are $37.00 tax included and there are 22.
For an extra fee, yet to be determined, a meal can also be
provided.
We can make decisions as to the number of holes as the event
nears and we have a clearer idea how many players there will be.
Editor: Joe Knycha - [email protected]
View Tee Shirt Entries
We will be doing a survey to
pick the Reunion Tee Shirt the
first week of February so get
your design in.