Glen The Hamilton Kid

Rotten to the Core

Hi everybody! (Hi Dr. Nick!). I just realised that I haven't talked to you since Strummer night so I figured I should drop you a line.
Quite a few things have happened since Good Friday. D.O.A. came to the Casbah and the Steeltown Spoilers opened. A night of good music, and the Spoilers kept their mosh-pit-bully-bashing streak alive ( 3 gigs, 3 tussles). D.O.A. used to have little flyers at the door explaining their outlook on mosh pit etiquette. Punks are  the outcasts of society, and yet there is always some dummy out there who wants to
stick it to us and make himself feel big by pushing other people around (excessively) in the pit. I have never tolerated this, I've been a Pit Policeman for almost 20 years now but the spring of dummies doesn't seem to dry up. I look forward to the Spoilers next gig (none scheduled at this point) as it will be Mr. Hammer's turn to take on the bullies, and he's the last one of us you'd want to cross. 
I also checked out Trash Gallery last night at the Absinthe, good guys who play really loud for their hard rock fan base. 

I missed the last Rebels show, heard attendance was light but a lengthy quality performance was enjoyed by those who did attend. Teenage Head played on Sataurday in (phhht!) Burlington, so I won't go.
I also went to the presentation put on by Harry Stinson at the Leander Boat Club. He is the guy who has bought the Royal Connaught and wants to build a giant glass tower next to it, approximately 80% of the size of the CN Tower. He made some pertinent and interesting points about the city, but he is definitely nuts! Not to say he shouldn't go ahead, just you'd \have to be crazy to do it. My favourite part was when he showed some current arial shots of downtown. All the parking lots were highlighted, the statement that there is no parking downtownis a myth. All sorts of our old factories used to be downtown, they got torn down to make parking lots.
Everywhere you see a vacant lot, there used to be something very impressive there that provided hundreds of families with an income. I can't think about it too much or I'll have a nervous breakdown.
Crash!
That was another building "Falling" down. The one next to the Lister Block on King William is our latest casualty No one is willing to prove it, but I'm pretty sure the LIUNA boys knocked it down. Thanks for nothing. Next in their sights is the skinny stone building to the north of the Lister Block on James. It was built in the 1880's,
there is nothing wrong with it. But you watch, it will be the next to "Fall down". Also, if you've driven by the Lister lately you should have noticed the scaffolding that has been put up to protect the sidewalk. Protect it from what? Nothing. Just LIUNA trying to trick everyone into thinking that it's falling apart. I've been all through it,
it's made of cement. It could sit there empty for the next 50 years and not fall down. Don't buy into LIUNA's tricks. They just want to destroy our history to turn a buck. Who owns the demolition company that put up the scaffolding?
The same guy who illegaly knocked down the Dynes Tavern on the Beach Strip. Only in Hamilton.
Speaking of Demolition City, another old time drinking hole has an appointment with a wrecking ball. The Derby Tavern will be knocked down and a pharmacy will be put in it's place. I made it to the on site auction where they were selling off a lot of the bar's contents. I didn't buy anything, but I found it sad that only one other guy was there for historical purposes. Everyone else just wanted cheap kitchen stuff.
Anyway, enjoy our old buildings while you can, because the powers that be are working against us.

Cheers!
The Hamilton Kid

ps. to Lou Molinaro, I wish I could have made it up to the 'Shwa and put in some time with you on the GM barricades.
And "Howdy" to Cal in Denver!

Spring in the City?

Howdy Y'all!

So Strummer night is over, and the weather is starting to turn around. We had a great night at the Casbah on Good Friday, sold out by 11pm!
I felt bad for the people who couldn't get in, maybe a bigger venue next year?
That's right, I said next year! Although I said I wouldn't do another one, one of my little droogies, Alex, from Sunday Detox has stepped up to run things next year. I don't think I can totally drop the reins, but he can deal with all the organising, and I'll just push a broom at the end of the night.
A week before the show I woke up with this huge cyst in the middle of my chest. You could see it poking through my shirt, about the size of a toonie. Went to the doc, and he said nothing to worry about. Then the day of the show, it was starting to  sink in that my shift was over and that Strummer night was upon me. As I was towelling off in the changehouse, I started gushing blood from this cyst.
I tend to think this was stress related. And when something makes you spew blood from the center of your chest, you should probably stop, or at least back off a bit, from whatever you are doing. Anyway, we raised a couple grand for the family of Tim Beck, and there will be a 7th next year!
On the more municipal side of things, I was told to pay a visit to the Museum of Steam and Technology on Woodward Avenue. I am trying to lobby around to save this giant steel painting at Stelco (I mean the former Stelce, sniff), and was told that the Steam Museum was salvaging pieces of old factories.
So, for $6 you can get a guided tour of the only Steam Pumphouse left in North America! They even turn it on for you. This pumphouse gave the city running water for the first time. Just so you know, we had, running water, electricity, and telephones before Toronto.
But what really turned my crank was that I got to see some of the salvaged stuff not open to the general public (I just flashed my "Hamilton Kid" badge, it opens a lot of doors). Just laying out in the sun were pieces of the original Gore Park fountain, and next to that were two steam hammers saved from Stelco's blacksmith shop before it was torn down. If that wasn't good enough, then the motherlode. My helper opened up the 1913 room (housed the 3rd stage of water pumping), and my jaw dropped. I wished this was my gagrage. All sorts of old engines and dynamos all taken from defunct Hamilton factories, many of the pieces actually built in Hamilton, including a Sawyer-Massey ashpalt steam roller. That was so cool.
Unfortunately, the man in charge wasn't around, so I couldn't talk to him about my Stelco sign.
Also, connected to our water history there are several original mancovers around the downtown core, from 1854. One is in everyone's favourite alley next to the Sirloin Cellar near King and James. Also, for the last 150 years has sat the only original Hamilton fire hydrant, just tucked around the corner in that alley. After the museum, me and the missus went to visit it. It's gone! I have alerted Paul Wilson of the Spec's Street Beat, but I still have not heard of it's whereabouts. Crikey! Our history cannot be replaced.
Stay on gaurd, pilferers are everywhere!
The Hamilton Kid

2008 in the Hammer, so far.

So kiddies, how have you been? I apologise for not writing to you lately, but what has been happening to write about? With a few exceptions, it seems to me that music in this city is in neutral right now, like it's 1986 again. I hate to harp on the Corktown again, but the punk community has not yet recovered from the loss of our headquarters. We are re-organising for a new attack I think. Some of the yocals are still playing (ie. Vapids, Trash Gallery, Punk Rods, Squids, Burnin' Ethyl, etc.), but due to my work schedule I have not been able to witness any of these shows. Many of the other bands have either broke up, or are creating splinter groups (ie. The Harbour Rats, Cannibal Girls,  Garburators, and my personal fave; The Hamilton Kid and the Steeltown Spoilers).
The clubs aren't as good as a year and half ago. No Cork, the Underground seems to have been relegated to high school bands (who have to give 1/2 the door to the club, don't do it kids), The Absinthe is ok, but needs to move that staircase out of the way.  I happen to know that that kind of renovation would run approximately $10,000 so I suppose that's why they don't. The Casbah seems to be the best, of what's left, but the building is too new and I can't shake the feeling of sterility it gives off.
Ok ok, enough negativity. 
One hangover from the good ole days, that has not gone away (yet), is the 6th annual Joe Strummer tribute night. Yes, I've been talked into putting on one more before possibly putting it to bed. Year after year the city's local musicians have helped me out in paying homage to our fallen hero Joe Strummer. I could be biased, but I think that the feeling that accompanies this show is unique. Everyone is there to have a good time, and to relive the times when the Clash affected their lives. Another thing that is an unexpected burst of creativity attached to the show is the creation of FUCT bands. Now, my terminology or history might be a bit off here (and I'm not talking about any line of clothing), but I believe I read in Joey Shithead's autobiography that a FUCT band is a group that is started from members of other bands, to sort of pass the time in between gigs or tours, etc.. They are never meant to amount to much but sometimes do (I'm thinking of Rude Norton, which was a band featuring members of DOA and the Subhumans). There have been several "pick up" bands like this involved with Strummer night in the past, and the tradition seems to be growing. These bands play Strummer night and Strummer night only. So if you want to see some of your local musicians put into situations they wouldn't normally be in, possibly playing with people you've never seen on stage before, this is the night that you should break out of your cocoon and witness a great night of music.
Joe Strummer was awesome, Strummer night is awesome, and this city can be awesome.
Don't miss out.

The Hamilton Kid

Demolition City

Howdy Y'all!

Been a little sparse in the posts lately so I thought I'd fire one off.
The Steeltown Spoilers debut, opening for the Forgotten Rebels at the Casbah, was a great night. I saw some faces I hadn't seen for a while, but spent most of my time outside because the bar was just too packed. I can't recall seeing so many people at a Rebel's gig. And I was doubly surprised at the size of some of the people in the crowd, around 20 per cent of the guys there were 6-foot-5 or bigger, and Big Kyle wasn't even there. I'm not used to feeling like a shrimp at a show.
Maybe that's why I was outside.

Due to a couple physical ailments that have cropped up lately I haven't been out a whole lot lately. My time out on the town lately has been split between the Vasco De Gama Portugese Fusball Clube on James Street North or the Lionshead if it's a Wednesday night.
Me and a couple friends discovered the Portugese bar while out on the James North Art Crawl a month ago. I loved this place — $2.50 pints, lots of free salty eats to keep your thirst up, and a hundred year old ceiling that threatened to cave in on us. I've been back a few times, and will return, but I was dismayed on my last visit to see repairs being done to the roof.
The Lionshead has kind of revitalized an old piece of the Corktown. They have started booking musical acts on Wednesday evenings. But due to the limited size of the bar, the artists are mostly singer/songwriters.
This reminds me of Sunday afternoons at the Corktown on the little stage. CR Avery was a pretty rowdy show for a single perfomer to pull off, and people like Tim Gibbons, Alfie Smith, Dave Rave or the Squids are typical performers for this room.

And now a message for City Hall. This is my Christmas wish, STOP THE DEMOLITION OF OUR OLD BUILDINGS!!!
Recent casualties are the former HMP, the house at the corner of James South and Charlton (both were from the 1850s) and the Balmoral Tavern. If you look at old pictures of downtown you may realise what we have already lost. Any parking lot or new building that you walk by replaced something that was way better. I am reading a local book sold to me by Dave Kuroc (go buy Christmas presents at his store, Mixed Media, on James) called Their Town, The Mafia, The Media and the Party Machine. It is a little out of date (1979), but it casts a scathing light on the deeply corrupt power brokers of Hamilton. In reference to our loss of old buildings, this book says that 290 businesses were shut down and demolished to create Jackson Square, the Art Gallery, and the Board of  Education. Eighty-eight per cent of these buildings were built in the 1880s or earlier. Geez, I wonder why downtown is in such rough shape? We have lost far too much already to allow any more destruction.
I have thus penned a song for Hamilton, Demolition City.

Merry Christmas and come check out the Steeltown Spoilers opening for the Mickey DeSadist show January 19th at the Casbah.

Cheers!
The Hamilton Kid

(Photo Ron Albertson, The Hamilton Spectator: Balmoral  Tavern, King East and Wentworth streets.)

assorted stuff

Well, let me see. It's been a little while since I've posted. Joey Shithead didn't end up coming to town a couple weeks back. I believe he was dealing with a new Ontario agent, who didn't really understand who he was, hence the opening slot on a bill of bands I've never heard of. I was one of the elite Grant Avenue dozen (as Lou Molinaro called us in his blog) that attended the afternoon performance/recording of Pere Ubu a couple weeks back. I thought they did better in the afternoon, when everyone proceeded to get drunk. Then a couple hours off, and back at it again that night. That evening I thought they performed well at the Absinthe, but I was not able to enjoy it as I began suffering the intial onslaught of that terrible cold that was going around.

 

A little more recently I attended Wanda Jackson's performance at the Casbah. It was pretty entertaining. As I mentioned to a couple people, "Nothing like listening to a 70 year old woman sing about having sex all night long".   I hadn't listened to very much of her stuff previous to her show, but was pleasantly surprised (especially by a song done in German!). My introduction to Wanda's music is pretty ass-backwards, but shows how important she is (or how smart the Clash were). I have in my small video library, footage of the Clash performing on television in Japan during their Asain tour, just prior to their Combat Rock release. During these performances, they bring out a female singer named Pearl Harbour ( an Asian- American who I believe was dating Paul Simonon at the time) who leads the Clash through a song called Fujiama Mama. Upon reading the Spectator article I realise that this was an old Wanda Jackson song that hit #1 in Japan. I believe it may also be responsible for the begininng of the Japanese rockabilly scene.  If you read the article in the Spectator announcing her return to Hamilton, then you would also know she had an amourous relationship with Elvis Presley way back when. And that he was the one who talked her into trying her hand at rock 'n roll. I had heard that Mickey DeSadist's comment to Ms.Jackson upon meeting her for the first time was "Have you seen Elvis lately?". At this most recent show, he continued with a couple heckles to the same effect.

 

At the Wanda Jackson show, I also mentioned to Mickey that someone had put up several video clips on Youtube of the Forgotten Rebels playing in London Ontario back in ' 83. I also mentioned I was surprised at some of the cover songs they did during this performance. At the time I couldn't place the song that struck me the most, it is incorrectly labeled "Danger". I have since found out it was "Ex- Lion Tamer" by Wire. Nice one Mickey.

 

I have also recently found out that the Rebels will be playing a show at the Casbah on Friday November 23rd. I know this for two reasons: 1. the Forgotten Rebels are one of my favourite bands, and I will go see them whenever I can. 2. Me and my new band will debut as one of the opening acts! I am excited. I don't try to use this column to expound my own exploits but I believe this might qualify as local punk news. As Lou Molinaro has mentioned on his blog, we decided to end my former band the Sam Lawrence 5 a couple months ago (Look for our last song on the C+C Music Factory compilation, it's called Gary, but it is not about local uber fan Gary Daley) . I have since been working on my new solo project "The Hamilton Kid and his Steeltown Spoilers".  I only just recently got the band line up figured out (Mark Hammer-Mickey DeSadist show and Deadly Romantics, Scotty Vapid and Robo of the Vapids and Horror Biz), but when you get the call to open for the Rebels, you respond  Yes sir!

 

And lastly, I missed the Punk Rods at the Absinthe this weekend because I have just returned from a road trip down to Philadelphia to help out and support the Hammer City Roller Girls all star team. I have driven in London England and New York City, but so far the worst drive I've had to make was the Penn turnpike at night in the pouring rain. They should really invest in some streetlights. Unfortunately, our local girls lost by 20 something points to the Penn-Jersey She Devils. But, in Hamilton's defence, the fact that the American team is coached by a roller derby hall of famer, and that they use an older form of rules, really put us at a disadvantage. Too bad, because the two teams were very evenly matched otherwise.I believe our local girls have one more game in a couple weeks in Fort Wayne Indiana, maybe you should go for a drive.

 

Cheers!

The Hamilton Kid

 

Ps. That cute dark-haired girl who was voted best local yoga instructor and had her face all over the View a couple weeks ago, incurred a spiral fracture to her tibia during the game. But, I figure she should heal pretty fast because she is so loose. Chin up Danger Mouse!

Canadian Punks Rule!! OK?

A friend of mine lent me the October issue of Spin magazine the other day. It is a look back at 1977 and the punk scene back then. There are some insightful interviews, but otherwise I would say it’s a typical rehash of events that you’ve probably read about before.

The only reason why I mention it is that they actually mention Canada! Not once but three times! This to me is unprecedented. The first quote is from an article that touches on punk being a global phenomenon:

“Canada was faux-scandalized by the Viletones, the Poles, Teenage Head, the Curse (all girls), the Skulls (an early version of hardcore heavies D.O.A.), and the Diodes (who opened the first Canadian punk club
Crash ‘n’ Burn).”

Could you hear that Gord!??! Over there on your blog? You’re in Spin this month!!!

There are also the typical 30 essential punk album lists, as well as a singles list. Again I was surprised by the Canadian inclusions. The list includes only albums released in ’77.

“The Diodes- The Diodes

Widely considered Canada’s first punk album, the Diodes is less radical and raucous than other countries’ early contributions: It’s more traditional skinny-tie rock. But the Toronto quartet makes good use of the past,
supplementing originals about girls and tennis (!) with two peppy 60s covers.
Hear: “Tennis (Again),” “Red Rubber Ball,” “Shape of Things to Come””

The singles list is only comprised of bands who released a single in ’77 and had not yet released a long player:

“The Viletones- Screamin’ Fist ep

Punk’s early critics often condemned the genre as nothing more than three chords and an attitude. In this Toronto band’s case, two generally sufficed.”

I kind of think the research on this was probably pretty shoddy, as there are only mentions of Toronto bands. Teenage Head are often referred to as being from Toronto. The Skulls, although from Vancouver, only existed for the short time that Joey Shithead and company relocated to T.O. Crash ‘n’ Burn wasn’t really a bar (a club maybe). It was the Diodes’ rehearsal space, they would open it up to the public once a month, get a special-event permit so that they could serve alcohol, and of course play to whoever showed up. There is apperently a film documenting a couple of these shows, but I have yet to see it. Did they have the first Canadian punk release? I don’t know but I rather doubt it. And from Spin’s own description, it didn’t really sound like punk anyway.

Dave Rave once told me that he accidentially bumped into Joe Strummer in a bar (I forget if it was London or NYC). Dave introduced himself and recounted his musical resumé, including his stint with Teenage Head. Apperently, Joe’s response was “Teenage Head, fu*&$kin’ good band!” Punks don’t need recognition, but as Canadians we like it when  people from the “important” countries notice us. If you can make it here, you can make it anywhere.

And as a little aside, Menace were also mentioned in the single category for “Screwed Up” (they’re British). Menace doesn’t get mentioned very often. They only put out a couple singles (one of them produced by ex-Velvet Underground member John Cale), but they were a strong band. A precursor to the Oi movement.

Stick your nose in a book,
The Hamilton Kid

ps. Did you know that Debbie Harry and Charlie Harper are the same age? 62! I thought only their hairdressers knew.

Oh Yeah, Music!

Howdy All!

I apologise for not writing more musical stuff lately. This is a music inspired site after all.

Last Friday night I attended the first evening of live entertainment at the Backstreet Cafe (formerly the Royal Tavern). It was billed as a Ric Taylor birthday party, but I think it was more of a "let's get the punk scene happening again" party. Let me tell you, it was great! It was like the old Corktown all over again, but even a little bit crazier. I know that might be hard to believe, but I don't remember ever seeing so many exposed breasts at the Cork (not in one night anyway).

The Royal (as I prefer to call it), had always had karaoke 7 nights a week, until last Friday. The Vapids opened the show and commented on how great a sound system the bar had, noting the only thing missing were a couple monitors. Then the Cannibal Girls played their first set in public, featuring Punk Rock Lisa. Headliners were Toronto's instrumental surf heroes The Blue Demons, and more boobs!

Have the punks found a new home? It's up to you. The bar did well, so they've got no problem bringing the punks back, but there doesn't seem to be anyone willing to become the booking agent right now. Anyone need a job?

And looking to the future, I highly recommend checking out Canadian punk icon, Joey Shithead when he plays the Casbah on Sunday October 7th. I'm not entirely sure what to expect of this show, basically because Joey is going on first! At 8pm! I assume he will be playing stuff off his new solo disc "Joey Shithead and his Band of Rebels", which I also highly recommend. But whether he will be performing with a full band, as he does on the album, or if he will just be playing by himself with an acoustic guitar at this point is anybody's guess. I know he has done solo acoustic shows in Vancouver, so that might be the ticket. I would actually like to see that, as I have mentioned in previous posts, Joey is a very underrated guitar player. Seeing him play acoustically would really show that off.

Anyway, he'll be opening for Les Breastfeeders (sorry about all the boob references), and headlining is Nebula from L.A.. I have never heard of these other two acts. I will let you know any other  developments in regard to this show as I find out about them.

I still haven't gone to the newly reopened Underground yet.

Rock 'n Roll!
The Hamilton Kid
(Photo: Joey Shithead)

Globalization comes to town

Well, my fellow Hammertonians, it is absolutely undeniable now. Globalization has finally got the better of us. It has been working on us for some time, picking off plant after plant. But now, the grandaddy of Hamilton manufacturing has finally succumbed to outside forces. Stelco Incorporated is now owned by Americans.

Maybe I should have warned you sooner, but we have slowly been getting gobbled up by cheaper labour in foreign countries, or in the case of the steel industry (which is "too big to fail", hah!), the power brokers have changed nationalities. Who cares? You should!

When I was completing my education, I was working full time at Procter & Gamble, and attending classes at night or in the mornning. I finally finished school, and held on at P&G for two more years. Then the plant closed.
If the factory wasn't successful enough to keep itself afloat, I could have accepted that. But what happened was, the head office in Cleveland (the original plant from the 1800's in nearby Ivorydale Ohio, hence Ivory bar soap, still operates) had moved so much production from Canada and the U.S. to Mexico, that the original plant in Ivorydale was getting quieter and quieter. So, remaining operations from Hamilton were moved there, to keep the ancestral home of the corporation humming. It wasn't that the Hamilton plant didn't make money, it just wasn't enough money.
That is the dumbest thing I've ever heard of. The plant had been there since the 'teens, and still turned a profit. But, all of a sudden, some new corporate vision left Hamilton out. Yes, you've been doing a great job for us for the last 80 or
90 years, but your just not making as much money as we want you to.  I agree with the idea of keeping the original plant in Ivorydale going, but why did they move the production from that plant to Mexico? Procter & Gamble had been
a good place to work over the years, and had been very family oriented. I worked with a man "Woody" and his two sons, "Twiggy" and "Stump". As well as others who were third generation soap makers. But their tradition, and family incomes,
are all over now.

Due to my industrial experience at P&G, I was in the running for the unthinkable. A job at Stelco, they hadn't hired a worker in 18 years! Since I was three years old I wanted to work at Stelco, or play for the Boston Bruins. Once I realised the Bruins weren't going to call, Stelco became my goal. My grandfather had started there in ' 33 and retired in ' 70, two years before I was born. My Dad was still working there but has since retired. These two guys were, and are, two of the biggest influences on my life. You couldn't get more manly than my Dad, or his father in law "Mose". I grew up thinking, that Stelco built men, and they do. A strange combination of broken, angry, strong and defiant kind of man, I call a traditional Hamiltonian. And that's me too. When gramps started in 1933, it was during the Great Depression and jobs were scarce. My great-grandfather Moses (whom I never met),
was a popular figure in the North End. He was able to pull a string or two and get my grandfather into Stelco. Everyone knew Moses. When my grandfather got in, everyone came to know that  he was Moses's kid. So rather than calling my grandfather Arthur, Art, or Moses's kid. He became Moses, or Mose for short.  This was pre-1946, the year of the big strike at Stelco that brought the
union in. So, the company had free reign on how it wanted to run it's business. There were no safety regulations, no set hiring practises, and if you looked at a foreman the wrong way, you were out on the street. On my grandfather's first day, he was walked over to an older gentleman slugging away at his job. I believe he was a strander, as that was what my grandfather did for most of his career. The foreman told the old guy to teach the kid the ropes, and that he'd be back  in a couple of days to see how he was progressing. When the foreman came back, he asked the older guy how the kid was doing. "Pretty good, he's picking it up
nicely". The foreman replied, "OK kid, your on the job, old guy, your out of here". Lost his job with six long years of the Great Depression ahead of him, nice. Anyone who says we didn't need unions either isn't from Hamilton, or should just jump in the bay (and never come up).

But I digress. The reason why I wanted to impart some of my family's working history is because Stelco, formerly the Steel Company of Canada, was not just important to thousands of households here in the city, but it also helped build, and even define Canada as a country. I am currently in the midsts of reading a book printed in 1960 called "The Elements Combined: A History of the Steel Company of Canada" (my gramps never called it Stelco. Where did you work? "The Steel Company"). The book explains that in 1902, Andrew Carnegie (as you may
know through famous Carnegie Hall) put together the largest company ever to that date. US Steel, or originally, the United States Steel Company, was an amalgamation of several existing American steel plants, that once united, became the first billion dollar company. Up here, in the fledgling Dominion of Canada, we were always trying to show the US and the world that we were our own people, and that we would not get swallowed up in a political or economic merger with the United States. As steel emerged as one of the most important industries around, Canada struggled to create it's own steel industry and to stop importing from mother England or Uncle Sam. It was seen as fantastically important not only that the creation of the Steel Company of Canada had cemented an indigenous steel industry here in Canada, but it was seen as an important step in our nation-building process, and helped to secure our sovereignty.

As the other businesses have left like Firestone and Procter & Gamble, their leaving was met with a shrug. They were just branch plants from the States anyway. Victims of Free Trade. But, the Steel Company of Canada being bought out by the United States Steel Company is a direct assault on our soveirgnty as a nation. One of the pillars that Canada was built on, has just become another branch plant from the U.S.. Subject to the whims of suits in Pittsburg, ready to close it at anytime.

It makes me sick.

The news broke late on a Sunday night a couple weeks ago, and when we went to work on Monday, the large Canadain flag that flew above #3 Temper Mill, was replaced with a smaller one, with an equal sized American flag underneath. Word has filtered down to me that our union president, Rolf Gertsenburger, had mentioned this to the plant's CEO, American Rodney Mott. Rolf asked Rodney what were we supposed to think of this symbolic change of the flags. Mott responded that "the Americans have bought the place, so they put up the flag", isn't that logical? I believe displaying the typical U.S. attitude, doesn't everyone want to be an American? But Rolf stated, "so if you had sold us to Severstal, you would have put up a Russian flag?". Apperently, this was the first time in Rodney's stay in Canada that he lost his cool. After a couple minutes of tirade at comparing Americans to Russians, Mott promised he would take the American flag down. When I left work on Thursday, the pole sat empty. No flags at all.

Many Hamiltonians probably never wondered where decades of buying cheap imports would lead us. It leads us nowhere, a pole without a flag.

Way to go.

A proud Canadian Steelworker,
Local 1005
THE HAMILTON KID

labour day fun

Howdy Hamilton!

 

  Happy Labour Day!

 

I wasn't able to get a ticket for the football game, and for the ninth year in a row I wasn't able to wake up early enough to join the Steelworkers in the parade (10am is pretty early when it's a long weekend). Here are some of the  other Hamilton things that I did.

 

I stopped by the Mustard Festival on Ferguson, the corn on the cob dipped in a mixture of butter and mustard is a must, and only a buck! There was a stage, and quite a few people. A big change from the first year they had it. Some stalls of people selling their wares.

I spoke to a photographer who was selling his infra-red pictures of downtown. I'm no shutterbug, but I am familiar with infra red film. It's horrible to deal with, but if you can get the film to turn out, the end result is usually worth the trouble. He had some great pics, but wanted an arm and a leg. Since I left my arm at home, I bought a panoramic photo of King and James Streets in 1913. I had inquired with the central library a couple years ago about getting a photo like this one copied, it was going to come to somewhere around $250 !! I picked one up from the Head of the Lake Historical Society's stall for $10. Someone needs to give their head a shake.

Then on Saturday afternoon I went and saw the newly reformed Battleship Ethel on top of Jackson Square for free. I never saw them the first time around but I have caught them a couple times lately. They're pretty cool, an instrumental jam band that sound like their from around 1970, reminiscent of the Doors. But they could get pretty heavy at times too. I just finished recording some demos with their drummer Mike Ford. Good guy. That night I wanted to check out Bob Bryden at the Casbah. But due to a lack of funds and ripping a bathroom apart, I didn't make it out. Bob is a really great guy who I originally met through ebay and then later through the Joe Strummer tribute nights. This city's alternative music scene owes him a lot. But I think I will save Bob's story for another time.

Then on the Sunday I ventured out to Milton with the couple bucks I had set aside to check out the Steam Era festival. I was told about it just recently, but it has been going for almost 50 years. Why would the Hamilton Kid venture out of the city, and go to Milton? Two words, Sawyer-Massey! Although there were tonnes (literally) of old tractors and other forms of near- ancient machinery, the highlight of the festival is the hundred year old steam tractors.

There were about ten of these behemoths there, and six of them were old Sawyer-Massy models, with Made in Hamilton Canada emblazoned on the side of most of them. These guys weigh in at 16 tonnes a piece and can go at the blistering pace of 5 miles per hour. I couldn't believe that if you opened the front of the tractor, you could cook a turkey in there in an hour and a half! It's steamed, so it would be pretty healthy, except for the lube-oil seasoning. I inquired what one of these machines would go for right now, and was told "In good condition,

about $100,000 and up"! I wish I was born with more limbs. 

 

The Hamilton Kid

 

ps. The Underground has reopened under new management.
photos: a Sawyer Massey; Bob Bryden

Two links in the Hamilton chain

Howdy Hamilton!

 

Well it's summertime in the city, and that means overtime at Stelco. Although I was able to hang out with them on Monday, I was unable to see Audience perform at the Absinthe on Tuesday (making the big bucks$! on overtime). It's very strange how Lou Molinaro finds out about these influential bands that people have never heard of.

 

Now the links!

 

Linc #1

 

  I finally got to met the Linc! Lincoln Alexander became a neighbour of mine recently. I had purchased and read his autobiography and liked it very much. I kept meaning to go and see him in the nursing home down the street (he's 87 now), but had not been able to gather the courage. After all, how do you try to get in to see the former Lieutenant Governer? "Howdy neighbour! Can I borrow a cup of sugar?".  Anyways, I noticed the Linc on Main as I was driving home. I figured that I was in good enough shape to park the truck, run in the house, get the book and a pen and cut him off before he was able to make it back to the home. I was right, and I got my book signed. Unfortunately, he seemed to be in a hurry, so we didn't get to talk much. I would urge anyone who recognizes the Linc to yell at him that we are proud of him.

He is a very smart man who made a lot of national milestones in this country. And you voted him the greatest Hamiltonian ever!

Link #2

 

I was very glad to see an old familiar face in Monday's Spec, and that was the face of the Missing Link! Otherwise known as Dewey Robertson, a local boy who made the big time in professional wrestling. But when I read the headline, that Dewey was dying of cancer, that definitely cut my joy short. Although he wasn't the biggest guy in the WWF in the 80s, I thought his character was fantastic. He never said a word but I rooted for him, even without knowing that he was a Hamilton boy. The article was a little premature I thought; saying he was not expected to survive his cancer. The article could have been a little more upbeat, as an early obituary doesn't follow good etiquette in my books. The picture that accompanied the article showed Dewey in full Missing Link garb and makeup, and he looked pretty buff for a then 65-year old. Don't count him out just yet, I'll put $5 on the Link that God can't get a 3-count out of him.

 

Come on Dewey!

 

In the streets,

The Hamilton Kid