The Morningside World Of Stuart Mc Lean


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Stuart McLean on Morningside- the early days of one of Canada's great story-tellers. In 1984, a young journalist named Stuart McLean was hired on as a columnist for CBC Radio's weekly morning program Morningside with Peter Gzowski.  His job was to bring extraordinary stories of everyday Canadian life.  It was tailor-made for his unconventional reporting style.  It was also a goal he'd been pursuing for over a decade. Rewind presents three of his finest.   In 1971, McLean graduated from what is now Concordia University in Montreal.  His first job was not as a journalist, but in the administration department of Dawson College.  It was a good, steady job, one he felt he really should be content with.  But he wasn't.  He had a dream to be a journalist and a writer.  And after three years, he quit.  He was then campaign manager for a colourful Montreal personality, Nick Auf Der Maur who was running for city council.  Through that role, McLean made contact with people in the CBC and managed to get a job at CBC television.   McLean then moved to radio.  He picked up freelance jobs and was then hired on as a researcher with Cross-Country Check-up.  Then he was a producer at Sunday Morning, where he made some serious documentaries. In fact, in 1979 he won an ACTRA award for Best Radio Documentary for a piece he did about the Jonestown massacre. But it was at the program Morningside that he says he found his voice. Stuart McLean created what were called "found items" -- stories gathered from the corners of Canadian culture.  We're going to hear three of those today. First up, Sweet Daddy Siki.  If you are wresting aficionado, you might know the name.  He was one of wrestling's biggest stars back in 60's and 70's. His signature moves included The Airplane Spin, the Coco-butt and the Neck Breaker.  Ouch. He was born in Texas but moved to Canada in 1971.  From his base in Toronto, he toured across North America.  From St. John's to Chicago , Calgary to Cleveland, Madison Gardens to Maple Leaf Gardens, Sweet Daddy Siki wrestled with the best of them.   And if you were listening to Morningside with Peter Gzowski in April 1987, you would have heard the story of Stuart McLean's visit to Sweet Daddy Siki's Wrestling School in downtown Toronto. Sweet Daddy Siki still lives in Toronto.  You can join him on stage for Karaoke at the Duke tavern on Queen Street in the city's east end.  He's there every Saturday afternoon.  Stuart's light portraits of quirky Canadians are some of his best remembered moments.  But some of McLean pieces also touched on deeper issues.  For example in March of 1990, McLean boarded a bus near Peterborough and interviewed three men who had just been released from prison.  It's interesting to listen to McLean's casual style as he interviews ex-cons.  It's a bit of a departure from the small-town world his characters inhabit on the Vinyl Café.   However, Dave and Morley would definitely be at home in the final piece. Back in 1990, Stuart visited Cliff Byam's Country Store in Tyrone, a tiny hamlet near Oshawa, Ontario. Clifford operated the Byam General Store in Tyrone until he finally closed the door in January 2004.   It's been closed since that time.  However, the Tyrone water-powered Mill is still very much in business.  Stuart McLean, when his Monday morning visits to Morningside ended in 1994, The Vinyl Café debuted as a summer replacement show.   Stuart McLean died 15 February 2017.    11 10 13

This recording is part of the Old Time Radio collection.