Jim Thomas
Columns
September 04, 2008 11:47 PM
Jim Thomas
We recently returned from a memorable holiday in Yankee land.
We took the long route via Gananoque’s Ivy Lea bridge. In doing so, we escaped lengthy lineups and suspicious customs officials at the optional crossovers, Lewiston, Niagara and Fort Erie. The time we saved more than made up for the extended distance.
We traveled 1,745 kilometres or 1,099 miles for those of you who, like me, are graduates of the old school.
Our ultimate destination was Lebanon, Penn., home of the Blue Mountain Gospel Festival.
Lebanon, a city of 25,000, is located between Harrisburg and Lancaster. The festival site includes a huge complex that also serves as the city’s fairgrounds It has inside seating for close to 2,000, with additional space for banquets and displays.
People bring their chairs, set them up in pre-arranged places, then go eat and visit.
On the subject of visiting, this site is southern hospitality at its best, especially so when they learn two visitors in their midst come from Canada. I had my right hand pumped so often, the right shoulder was close to collapse.
Each greeting was accompanied by comments like:
“You mean you drove all this distance for one concert? Sakes alive, that’s a mighty long way to come for so short a time.”
The festival, by the way, extended over five days and five nights. We stayed five hours.
And talk about eat. Pennsylvanians obviously have huge appetites. We saw folks, some extremely rotund, wolfing down hamburgers and hotdogs like the Angus breed was all but extinct.
While there, plus traveling to and from, we made other observations:
• That most Americans know little or nothing about Canada.
• At a restaurant, a waitress stared in dismay at a Canadian $10 bill and, after questioning its legitimacy, handed it back.
• Many eating places in both New York and Pennsylvania still permit smoking without protective partitions. When asked about a Tim Hortons, one respondent knew only that the company’s namesake had once played hockey “with the Buffalo Bills”.
• Because gas thefts are prevalent, most station operators demand pre-payment, even during daylight hours. Measurements are in gallons, not litres; temperatures are in Fahrenheit, not Celsius.
• Police officers in those U.S. towns and cities we visited, serve dual roles. They not only walk their beats but provide directions to lost motorist. For protection, we learned many residents have guns in their homes. And it’s not unusual for transport drivers to keep revolvers holstered in their cabs.
• Americans are intensely patriotic. Not only do they stand for their national anthem but they actually sing it, with some holding hands over their hearts. The Stars and Stripes are prominently displayed from homes and stores.
• A cross-section of America is also intensely religious. At least one radio station in every state carries nothing but gospel music.
• Americans are both a modern and a stand-pat society. Where else can one go where toilets boast automatic flushes yet men dry their hands on their pants?
Where else can one go and attend a concert where people of all races, colours and creeds accord guest groups multiple standing ovations?
We counted it a privilege to be there. For me, it was a dream come true.
For, at age nine, I would listen intently to a gospel group called The Chuck Wagon Gang. Their songs were featured regularly over radio stations out of Nashville and West Virginia. Unfortunately, due to distance, our DeForest Crossley radio could ride those air waves only at night.
That was 70 years ago. Never, did I expect to meet them, the third generation CWG personally.
On Friday, I did; even shook hands with Dave Emery, Julie Hudson, Penny Greene and Stan Hill, now working out of Pigeon Forge.
To make our trip and meeting complete, they autographed a now-treasured photo that, once framed, will hold a place of prominence in my Room of Memories.
No one can imagine the nostalgia associated with hearing the Chuck Wagon Gang sing songs I vividly recall as a kid. Their beautiful harmony rang from the rafters of the Lebanon Expo Center. And made our long journey, a trip we’ll never forget.
Jim Thomas is a Stouffville resident who has written for area newspapers for more than 50 years.