Mumford & Sons will be doing a show at the Norfolk County Fairgrounds in Simcoe this summer. This was enough to put Simcoe into the Top Trending Items on Twitter.
It meant something to me because Simcoe was my home for a few months after leaving Humber radio broadcasting school. Mumford had no sons back then. I don’t see the big deal over Mumford & Sons selling out concerts and millions of CDs and downloads in this day and age. I’ve seen them on award shows; in fact, I’ve seen dozens of such bands over the years in my musical travels and travails. I call these bands “Tom Joads With iPhones”. They act, sing and dress like it’s the dirty 30’s but they are using very clean 21st Century technology to do their thing. However, best of success to any band to achieve what they have so far.
I immediately tweeted that the late Rick Danko of The Band was born near Simcoe and lots of such acts come through their now and then and usually during the Norfolk County Fair. I worked for the radio station once during the fair. My boss/program director was teaching me how to be a great radio broadcaster cuz I clearly wasn’t. That particular day was rainy or cloudy and he went on the air to say: “There’s not much happening at the fair, nobody’s here, it’s pretty dull.” Slap your forehead time. Even I knew you have to find something positive and exciting to talk about to get people in the mood to actually go down there. Talk about a horse, a pig, an ice cream sandwich. He’s still doing his thing in some small market Ontario….
In my day, Simcoe was known for its tobacco crop. Tobacco farmers drove Rolls Royces down Main St. Smoking was a good thing in Simcoe. Simcoe is still famous for its Christmas Panorama, where large statues and decorations are situated around town to the bus tourists’ delight. I lived on a street along the bus tour. Night after night bus lights and horns would fill my tiny room (not far from the above pictured Carillion Tower). One night I got so mad I stormed outside to give the next bus driver the finger. Once outside, I saw a bus driver turn on his interior lights and he was dressed as Santa Claus. I laughed and forgot about the whole thing.
Terry Fox started and ended his marathon while I was working in Simcoe. John Lennon was shot and killed one early December night. My friend Ed McMahon (yes, that’s his real name) was doing the news about to shut down the station at midnight…they did that in those days. He simply read a bulletin that said verbatim “some nut has shot John Lennon in New York City.”
Simcoe during the summer and fall is an extremely pretty town. I learned a lot while working there. About Service Clubs, Port Dover before the bikers took over, living on my own, pancake breakfasts, fresh corn.
Yes, yesterday Simcoe was a top trender on Twitter.
Great Job, Robert, from yourself.
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