Reporting in On My Project, Oct 2, 2023 

As this project wraps up, I’m very grateful to all who participated, and to the Artist-in-Residence program at the City of Guelph for giving me the resources and support to complete ‘Rhyme Capsules. 

To start with: here’s the proposal I made to the city for my project. As we’ll see, it didn’t quite turn out exactly as planned, but nonetheless I think it was a success. (Hopefully listeners and readers will agree!) 

         Back in the Spring of ’23 I wrote: 

“My goal with ‘Rhyme Capsules’ is to capture real Guelph stories from local seniors, from diverse backgrounds, who reflect the multi-cultural aspect of our community. Guelph has a number of history books and written accounts of city life, yet I find that often the real human experience of living here is missing from our records. Starting with the indigenous presence with gatherings at the confluence of our two rivers, through to the first Scottish settlers brought here by John Galt’s Canada Company, to the wave of Italian immigrants in the early years of the 20th century, and the subsequent arrival of new Guelphites from all over the globe, there are tales to be told that help us identify Guelph’s identity: ‘who we are, where we came from, and where we’re going’ . 

         We are improving as a city in our appreciation and support for the arts, and at the same time I’m noticing that our attentions in this area often leave out the knowledge and talent of our seniors. 

My plan is to facilitate workshop sessions that involve collecting and sharing stories, followed by additional sessions that help the participants shape those stories into songs, poems, or spoken word pieces. 

Hopefully with at least a dozen juicy stories collected, we’ll assemble a team of interested participants who, with my guidance, will create at least four songs (in two different groups). I’ll turn at least four stories into songs myself too, ( since I won’t be able to resist grabbing some of them!)- and all these will be shared in a culminating performance involving the song creators, storytellers, and anyone else willing to lend their voices and instruments to this final production. This event will be videotaped along with a professional quality audio recording that can live on digitally as a lasting record of the project.  

I’ll form partnerships with organizations such as the Guelph and Wellington Seniors Association, the Evergreen Centre, the Elliot Community, Immigrant Services Guelph Wellington, The Guelph Multi-cultural Festival, our urban indigenous community, and a still-to-be-chosen high school whose students will add a youthful perspective to the process. (In other projects that I’ve done like this, the multi-generational collaborations can be very meaningful to the participants, creating a bond between seniors and ‘juniors’ that doesn’t happen often these days.) 

I’ll ‘curate’ the stories so that the ones chosen to be part of the culminating event represent a diversity of experiences that paint a picture of our city at this moment in time”. 

That was the plan. Here’s how it played out! 

My first obstacle was an unusual one. I thought I’d start at the Evergreen Centre. ( I’m a member, and the centre was in the ward I represented while on council, so I had frequent contact with this great civic resource. 

The first gathering was planned, though I was warned that since Covid attendance at the Centre was way down, except for Pickle Ball! The warnings were accurate. Only one person showed up! We tried again: and once more only one showed up, so I urged each of them to come to a future event, which thankfully they did. 

Then I moved the group sessions to the Eastend Library. Same thing. No one showed up, and I realized from some of the feedback that seniors in particular felt intimidated by the prospect of becoming instant songwriters. I might have been better off just holding storytelling sessions, and turning those tales into songs with some guidance from the tellers. 

Then I switched gears a bit and decided to try one-on-one sessions with community members who had been suggested to me as good resources. 

The first one happened accidentally. 

As an author as well as a songwriter, I attended the Wellington County Writer’s Festival on June 10th, where I had a booth to hawk my wares and also to promote this project. In the booth beside me was an author from Guelph, D.E. Cerson,  who had written a book called 'The Norwich Street Bridge Gang)- about his childhood memories of growing up in the 1950s near the Norwich Street Bridge, Guelph’s last Steel and Iron bridge built in 1882. ( It still stands as a walking bridge ) I travel this bridge regularly, now a walking bridge. 

I bought a copy of his book and devoured it right there at my booth. ( Traffic was light at the festival.) The tales were very engaging, and I asked permission to turn his tale into a song, and voila, the first ditty was born. Here are the lyrics; Video and audio recording to follow 

Song #1: The Norwich Street Bridge Gang 

I can still remember when 

I’d spend all day on my CCM 

And there was one place I would always go 

Us river rats would always meet 

At the little bridge on Norwich street 

Where we would watch that old Speed Flow 

Back in ‘54 the world was ours 

With our swim trunks on our handlebars 

We’d change in the bushes and in we’d dive 

The water was cold but we still swam 

All the way to Allan’s Dam 

It’s a wonder that we ever survived 

Chorus: 

At 10 when the St. George church bells rang 

The famous Norwich Street Bridge Gang 

Would gather on our bikes to plan our fun 

Messing in the mud or slingshot fights 

All kinds of teenage boy delights 

That was our golden moment in the sun 

Out behind the Armco factory 

We’d swipe some culvert metal and we’d 

Craft a raft and float it down the stream 

We’d make it right to MacDonnell 

If we sunk there’d be a tale to tell 

All summer long our life was but a dream 

Before we all biked home for lunch 

Our entire noble bunch 

Would ride to Eramosa and head to MOrt’s 

And Get a five cent bottle of Guelph-made Flip 

And a bag of Lay’s potato chips 

Teasing Old Mort was our favourite sport 

Chorus 

Just four of us are still around 

And only Floyd still lives in town 

But we all get together now and then 

Over a hand of euchre we shoot the breeze 

And revel in those memories 

Of those good old days way back when 

Song #2, created with residents of the Elliot Seniors Community 

The next song went more according to plan. 

A good group gathered one morning at the Elliot Home, (where I once had been a board member). All in their late 80s and early 90s, they were keen to tell their tales from Guelph before and into the 2nd World War. 

I noticed a pattern that would be repeated a few times when meeting older Guelph residents. Their strongest memories were always from their early childhood years. I was curious about what strong memories they had about a rather obscure Guelph historical detail, about when the Agricultural College ( before it became the University of Guelph) was commandeered during the war to be the RCAF #4 Wireless School. This was a strong memory for another of my storytellers that became Song #3. 

I was very taken by the image related by one of the Elliot residents who remembered the bustling downtown activities where even boys would wear ‘their second best suit’. Apparently every young man owned two suits: one for church, weddings and funerals, and one for hitting the town. I was also enchanted by a phrase they frequently used which became the title of the song. I recorded their ideas and suggestions, but they put me in charge of writing the song myself. 

At Least That’s The Way I Recall It

Saturday afternoons we’d hit the town

We’d stroll along Wyndham Street up and down 

You in your second-best suit, me in my bonnet and gown 

At least that’s the way I recall it. 

Neighbours were friends and friends were like family 

Something we don’t seem to see that much now 

Way back then we had a certain comradery 

I wish we could go back to those days somehow 

Have a soda at Leggat’s, or see the Coal Brother’s store 

Kennedy’s, Kresge’s -they’re not there anymore 

At the Dance Hall above Ryan’s, we’d glide cross the floor 

At least that’s the way I recall it. 

Neighbours were friends and friends were like family 

Something we don’t seem to see that much now 

Way back then we had a certain comradery 

I wish we could go back to those days somehow 

When you needed a car cuz your job was somewhere else 

Folks seemed to mostly just keep to themselves 

Then things weren’t as lively in downtown Guelph 

At least that’s the way I recall it 

No grocery stores nowadays, no picture show 

Things have moved to the edges of this overgrown town 

Leaving sad troubled souls who have nowhere to go 

I wish we could go back to those days somehow 

I wish we could go back to those days somehow 

Song #3: The #4 Wireless School 

I had the pleasure of interviewing Ken Frid at his daughter’s home in Guelph. His family owned Frid Cleaners, a prominent business back in the day, and I was looking for insights into the early businesses in this town. Like the Elliot folks, he was only really interested in describing his younger days before he had business responsibilities and a family. Like the last group mentioned, the very first story he told me was about the #4 Wireless School. I was curious about why that tale resonated so strongly for him, and my lyrics that followed our conversation speculates about the importance to him of that. 

Born in the north end

The Edge of the city then

memories- yes, I have a few

Those were the good old days

A fine place to be raised

Up By Speedvale Avenue

Summers Swimming in the mill pond

Winters- down the hills on

Our good old Flexible Flyers

Or we’d head down Woolwich Street

To the downtown where we’d meet

To Find all our heart’s desires..

Chorus:

We sure had our fun

But back in Nineteen Forty-one

Guelph seemed different somehow

When the Air force Arrived

It seemed to change all our lives

They had brought the war to our town

We’d walk up that big long Gordon Street Hill

The war looked real when we’d watch those airmen drill

We’d see those brave men and women through the fence

It was the end of our innocence

That school run by the RCAF

was Called the #4 Wireless

The British Commonwealth Air Training Plan

All us kids were proud of it

It felt like Guelph was doing its bit

For me it was when this boy became a man

Song #4 

River Run Roots.   From the telling of Nancy Coates. 

I wanted to have a sung that talked about Guelph’s vibrant arts scene, and when I asked around about it the name Nancy Coates came up. I’ve known Nancy a long time as a friend and champion of the arts, and for her exploration of her indigenous ancestry. I jumped at the chance to meet with her at her lovely home near the University, and that university was an important part of the conversation. It’s her belief that the arts in Guelph took a giant leap forward when the university was founded bringing a diversity of new people to our city. 

She was a major part of the team that helped get the River Run Centre built, and she feels that its creation really allowed our town to come into its own artistically. That place means a lot to me too. I lay claim to being the first singer on its main stage, in a hard hat while it was being constructed. 

When the university 

Was founded it brought diversity 

And some sophistication to our little backwoods town 

It seemed our arts and culture scene 

Was not quite what it should have been 

To satisfy the needs of town and gown 

And when the Guelph Spring Festival 

Made music more accessible 

We found there was a growing demand 

To find a place, a brand new home 

That we could call our very own 

We vowed to build the best hall in the land 

It was a lot of work, over a lot of years 

With a brave brigade of volunteers 

To get that passion project done 

When it was finished, soon the crowds 

Would gather there, they all said “WOW” 

We finally had our River Run! 

But first those fervent culture heroes 

Had a budget with a lot of zeroes 

That had to pass that stingy city hall! 

Councillor Hammill led the way 

And soon he had his colleagues swayed 

We had a citizen’s arts centre for us all! 

It was a lot of work, over a lot of years 

With a brave brigade of volunteers 

To get that passion project done 

When it was finished, soon the crowds 

Would gather there, they all said “WOW” 

We finally had our River Run! 

But it wasn’t all the city’s dough 

There was massive funds to raise you know 

Everyone chipped in thanks to that dedicated team 

So thanks to that great founding crew 

Who stuck with the vision and saw it through 

Now twenty-five years on we still can dream that dream 

Look around all you see 

Once was only a dream 

A flight of imagination 

And that dream was a home 

A place to call our own 

Where we could all feel the joy of creation 

(this last verse is from a song I wrote for the opening of the River Run Centre 25 years ago!) 

Song #5 We Are One Family, created with clients of Guelph Immigration Services 

I was invited to present a songwriting workshop at Immigrant Services Guelph Wellington as part of their Welcome Week Celebrations in September. 

An enthusiastic group gathered with a real diversity in backgrounds. They spoke with such eloquence and passion about their experiences after moving to Guelph from a number of different countries. Their stories were mostly positive, and some people of colour related that in the time they’ve been here they have seen less racism. This was perhaps my favourite gathering, and they contributed a lot to the song. One woman from Eritrea, with only some ability in English, stood up when I asked if someone could sing a melody for the lyrics they had created. She sang so beautifully and with such heart that you can hear me crying on the demo recording we made. Here’s what they came up with. We ran out of time so I used their notes to finish the song later. 

We are one family under one sky 

Like leaves from the same tree, that fall and fly 

Enjoying different cultures, sharing the land 

Standing together hand in hand 

We all came to Guelph 

From somewhere else 

We missed all that we had left behind 

But we were met with smiling faces 

Such a welcoming place 

Everyone was so kind 

We are one family under one sky 

Like leaves from the same tree, that fall and fly 

Enjoying different cultures, sharing the land 

Standing together hand in hand 

Sharing a potluck meal 

Always made us feel 

As if we all belonged 

Different customs and tastes 

But we’re all the same race 

Singing the same hopeful song 

We are one family under one sky 

Like leaves from the same tree, that fall and fly 

Enjoying different cultures, sharing the land 

Standing together hand in hand 

Coming to the 

cold and the snow 

From so far away you know 

It was hard to make a new start 

But our worries, our fears 

Quickly disappeared 

When Guelph took us in to its heart 

Song #6 One Voice, One Heart 

by the Guelph Chamber Choir, facilitated by James Gordon 

This is the only song in the project that was written entirely by the participants. I just had get them started and they were away to the races with a beautiful heartfelt song. The choir is directed by Dr. Charlene Paul Pauls, a dynamic leader who invited to lead a session with them after one of their rehearsals. I’ve worked with this great group and their accompanist Alison MacNeill before. Alison and I went to high school together and she was my first piano teacher! 

They not only composed all the lyrics and the melody, but they instantly added thrilling harmonies. They wrote about the joys of singing together. A fitting topic. The rough recording I made that day sounded pretty good and it’s included here. They were so pleased with the result that they’ll be presenting it in concert this November. 

Different lives, different stories, moments of the day, 

Enter the space, gather together, the world drifts away 

Breathing as one, Moving together, a song yet unsung 

Building a chord, feeling the rhythm, music has begun 

Singing as 

One voice; one heart; weaving harmony 

One voice; one heart; building community 

Sharing the love, sending out joy, the power of our song, 

Healing our spirits, food for the soul, here we all belong. 

Singing as 

One voice; one heart; weaving harmony 

One voice; one heart; building community 

Singing as 

one voice; one heart; weaving harmony 

Our voice; our hearts; we are community 

Song #7 There’s an Old Elm Tree 

Written with the attendees of the Praise the Ward Festival 

I received a small startup grant through the Guelph Arts Council and the Guelph Neighbourhood Support Coalition to present a community event celebrating the part of the city that I live in, called ‘The Ward’ by its residents. So the ‘Praise the Ward’ Festival was born. 

As my contribution to the proceedings, I held a songwriting session in an historic building just a few yards from my house. I asked the participants if they could write a song about the ward, and I was very pleased and surprised by the result. A few of them had the same attachment to an old tree just up the street from me in the Huron Community Garden, a lovely Ward gathering place. They came up with a beautiful image of this tree ‘holding the ward together’ and helping to create the community. I had never noticed the tree. Some claimed it was a large crabapple, and the resident gardener there insisted that it was a Russian Elm. I went with Elm because it sings better! I also hadn’t know that the garden used to be known as Priest Hill, as it’s right beside the residence of the priests who work at the nearby Sacred Heart Church. They told me that the hill is an equal distance from the Protestant School, Tytler, and the Catholic School, Sacred Heart, and that the boys from each school would gather there to fight in the olden days! 

There’s an old elm tree. 

up by Manitoba Street 

Guarding our garden faithfully 

It sees our great diversity 

Different roots from different seeds 

That’s how you build community 

With the fruits of all the labours 

From our fine ward neighbours 

We’re cultivating something great 

Where those two rivers meet 

With our rich history 

We gather by that tree to celebrate 

There’s an old elm tree. 

up by Manitoba Street 

Guarding our garden faithfully 

IT sees our great diversity 

Different roots from different seeds 

That’s how you build community 

Yes up on Priest Hill that tree 

With its deep roots it seems to be 

Keeping this little ward strong 

You can feel its spirit 

Listen can you hear it? 

We’re all singing the same song 

From Alice down to Neeve 

Most folks say they would never leave 

The Ward feels like a place to settle down 

On Kingsmill or on Hayes 

On a fine summer’s day 

You can see the love all around 

You can see that old tree holding its ground 

There’s an old elm tree. 

up by Manitoba Street 

Guarding our garden faithfully 

IT sees our great diversity 

Different roots from different seeds 

That’s how you build community 

I did a youtube video of this one: check it out here: 

https://youtu.be/o3Lh5HvCKuA?si=UcDet2FEklp2GyVZ 

Song #8 Guelph Is An Activist Town; from the telling of Norah Chalanor 

Guelph DOES have a history of activism and advocacy for progressive causes. It’s one of the things that keeps me here, and I get involved with this as much as I kind. Years of frozen fingers playing at winter protest rallies. Norah Chalanor has been at the forefront of so many campaigns that I’ve often thought there should be a statue of her out in front of city hall holding a protest sign. 

She was positive about the efficacy of all this work, though it does get frustrating at times. She DOES worry about passing the desire to work for change on to the next generation. She gave me lots of ideas on the subject and also pointed me to some leads for Song #10 coming up. 

My good old friend Norah 

Always had a great plethora 

Of ideas that could make this city great! 

She says if you get involved 

Any problem can be solved 

If you join a group and fight, it’s not too late 

CH: You will find 

If you make some signs 

Then March them down to city hall and wave them all around 

Make some noise, 

 raise your voice… 

You’ll make a difference that we need 

To fight that corporate Greed 

Cuz Guelph Is an activist town 

Got a vision? Got a dream 

Form an advocacy team 

We need grassroots leaders and You Can be one 

Be the change, we won’t survive 

If we don’t give It a try 

When you see a cause that must be championed 

CH: You will find 

If you make some signs 

Then March them down to city hall and wave them all around 

Make some noise, 

 raise your voice… 

You’ll make a difference that we need 

To fight that corporate Greed 

‘Cause Guelph Is an activist town 

In this great community 

You can build resiliency 

By working hand in hand 

Find the hope, it is a fact 

You can’t win if you don’t act 

It’s time to take a stand 

What kind of world do we leave for our next generation 

It’s all up to us 

Do we give up in our frustration 

Or do we Take up the cause, Norah says we must! 

CH: You will find 

If you make some signs 

Then March them down to city hall and wave them all around 

Make some noise, 

 raise your voice… 

You’ll make a difference that we need 

To fight that corporate Greed 

Cuz Guelph Is an activist town 

Song #9 The Ballad Of Guelph’s Skating Rinks 

Dr. Mark Goldberg called me when he saw the publicity for my project. He and I founded the Wellington Water Watchers so we knew each other well. 

He asked if we could meet in front of city hall so he could tell me a story that might suit my needs. 

He walked me around Market Square and told me the tale of how the rink/splash pad came to be, and about his involvement in it. He had been one of the “Rink Rats” who raised the funds for this great civic asset, along with Audrey Jamal. Mark Rodford and Ken Hammill. In listening to his story, I realized that Guelph had a long history of skating rinks, so I dug into David Allen’s great history book “About Guelph: Its Early Days and Later” ( much more interesting than its title!) and decided to make Mark’s story the last part of our town’s rink tale that began in 1872. 

In the Royal City winters were great 

Everybody loved to skate 

When our two rivers they froze up 

But those times were really not enough 

To satisfy our endless craze 

For skating on those winter days 

Some civic leaders started to think. 

What we need is an indoor rink! 

So in eighteen Hundred and Seventy-one 

At Huskisson and Wellington 

Our first wooden rink appeared 

It did the job for several years 

Then in 1882 

As our little city grew 

A fine stone building was completed 

The Speed Skating Rink was what we all needed 

But the railroad came and those train tracks 

Sliced through the rink and took off the back 

What were our skaters going to do? 

It was time to look for something new! 

 The Victoria Rink on Baker Street 

And Later Petrie’s, it was pretty sweet 

And the Arena on Paisley and I beg your pardon 

I almost forgot Memorial Gardens! 

 But That rink turned into city hall 

The new Arena was too dear for us all 

But a new group that called themselves Rink Rats 

Said “We have got the solution for that” 

 They said “Great cities everywhere 

 Have a rink out front in the Civic Square 

And they’re splash pads in the summer too 

Can you help make our skating dreams come true? 

The city said “gosh, we adore it!” 

 But we’re not gonna pay a penny for it” 

 So the Rink Rats they began 

 To raise the funds to make their plan 

Though their efforts were extensive 

 That project was a bit expensive 

 Those Rats were ready to hang up their Skates 

 But then fate intervened to save the day 

A lad was playing hockey on a rink just up the hill 

He was struck by an errant puck and the poor young man was killed 

His family was devastated, they mourned and they grieved 

Till they had a thought that would preserve his memory 

They would be a major sponsor of the Rink in market Square 

Knowing other kids his age would enjoy the skating there 

Soon other sponsors came on board, and things moved rapidly 

And soon the awesome spot you see today was reality 

So next time you’re there, look for the plaque and show your appreciation 

Give your thanks to The Nicholas Lambden Children’s Foundation 

Song #10- Native Sons 

I found this the most challenging song to write, though perhaps the most satisfying one to complete. I really wanted to include Guelph’s indigenous story in the project. I have some indigenous ancestry, but I was not raised in that culture and I don’t feel that I can speak for that urban population. It’s always been a struggle to determine who CAN speak on their behalf. I had heard stories about the ‘Native Sons’, a group of inmates at the former Guelph Reformatory, (later known as the Correctional Centre)- that closed about 20 years ago. Far too many Indigenous men were behind bars in our country, continuing a centuries-old pattern of subjugation. It turns out the men painted beautiful and powerful murals on the walls of the prison, and they had a periodical journal of poems and writings. I thought those poems might be perfect for this project, to show another side of our civic history. However, these could not be used without the permission of the authors, yet none could be reached among those still living. 

Instead, after reading an interview on the CBC with local historian Brian Skerrit, and on the advice of a local elder, I realized that I could act as a ‘reporter’ of the story of the Native Sons without appropriating their voices. I hope this song I’ve written honours their memory and helps to raise awareness of their difficult journey through our colonialist system. 

Once they made it through the residential schools 

They couldn’t find their way, they didn’t have the tools 

To live in the white man’s world, they turned to alcohol and crime 

And they found themselves at the edge of Guelph, in the prison, doing time 

Separated from the land, their fathers and their mothers 

Behind those bars, it was so hard, but they looked out for each other 

They won permission from the guards to have a sweat lodge and a drum 

To celebrate their culture, they called themselves the native sons 

They took their trauma and their anger, and they put it on the wall 

That the guards had let them use in the Lower Assembly Hall 

Sharing the tortured journey of their troubled lives 

That’s the way they say those inmates managed to survive 

They painted their pain and passion on that cold prison wall 

We must preserve those murals as a lesson for us all 

For colonials who locked them up in the Reformatory 

There is wisdom to be shared in the Native Son’s story 

For all of those incarcerated, who had their lives all torn apart 

They found hope and a way to cope through their poems and their art 

Prisoners on their own land, stolen from them long ago 

They found a kind of freedom that they had never known 

There’ll be no reconciliation, no truth can be told 

Till we find a way to honour those forgotten souls 

Who suffered for the crime of being indigenous 

What about the crimes against their culture committed by us 

They painted their pain and passion on that cold prison wall 

We must preserve those murals as a lesson for us all 

For colonials who locked them up in the Reformatory 

There is wisdom to be shared in the Native Son’s story 

I am only a reporter, this is not my tale to tell 

I cannot speak for those who spent so long in a lonely cell 

But I can lend my voice to those who now have raised the call 

To find a way to bring to light the tales told on that wall 

Songs #11 and #12 

I mentioned in my proposal that I would write a couple of songs of my own, without community input. So these are two bonus songs written during the time period of this project about my Guelph experience. 

The first is called, not so imaginatively, “The Guelph Song”, kind of a love song to a city, about one of my great Guelph pleasures; riding around town on my vintage Raleigh bicycle named “Sir Walter”, and the other fills a gap I noticed. Every good song collection needs an ‘actual’  love song, especially one that involves the Eramosa River, close to where I live. That river always nourishes my soul. 

So here they are: 

The Guelph Song 

Church of our Lady, smiling down 

On the sweet and shady    streets of town 

Sir Walter's wheels sing as they spin round 

I think he feels this love I've found 

Down by the banks  of the mighty speed 

I give my thanks for the life I lead 

for the blessings of  community 

And for the love you've given me 

hippies, hustlers, debutantes 

Buskers punks and clerks and cops 

Cruising by the restaurants 

moms and pops stop in the shops 

They're in our local shops! 

Kids are splashin’ in Market Square 

Lingering laughter in the air 

Come on along and let me share 

This city song  it's everywhere 

Geeks and freaks and scenesters too 

Pigeon man and barefoot guy 

Look there's Tannis, hey there's Lou 

they wave to me as I ride by!   They wave as I ride by 

You And Me And This River 

We would walk along beside the Eramosa’s banks 

Heal for heal and toe for toe 

Skipping stones and giving thanks 

For that water’s healing flow 

Heart to Heart and Mind to mind 

Our conversation was a river too 

In a classroom of cedar and pine 

That river taught us all she knew 

You and me and this river 

We are bound together now 

Rolling in sweet harmony 

You and me and this river 

I believe somehow 

That she holds our destiny 

The way this river twists and bends 

That’s our story too 

And this tale has a happy end 

If we stay honest and true 

Listen to the river sing 

It’s love song to the sea 

When you add to that the love we bring 

It’s a beautiful symphony 

You and me and this river 

We are bound together now 

Rolling in sweet harmony 

You and me and this river 

I believe somehow 

That she holds our destiny 

Listen to the river’s rhythm 

Echoed by the birds 

I’m singing along with them 

I have memorized the words 

So that I can hold the tune 

While you’re gone away 

Come on come home soon 

Our river awaits 

Well that’s it. MORE songs than I’d planned, and at the same time not all created with the process I had envisioned. And I never did get to a school for a young Guelphite perspective as the project took place mostly over the summer. 

Thanks for listening and reading. 

Watch for recordings and videos soon 

James Gordon