Canadian Folk Music BULlEl1N 30.4 (1996) ...7

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F owkelore

Vera Johnson

The following article was written, at the editors' request, as 1995 turned into the present year. We wished to give Edith Fowke the tributeshe deserved while she yet lived; we were aware that we had limited time to accomplish this, but we did not know how limited. We have left the

essay in present tense, poignant though this be, as an indication that it was intended to serve a different function. How you would have ~d it,how we would have framed it, we will never know. Like Vera's memoir of her own career, which we presented last year (29.1, March 1995),

this piece is based upon Vera's famous and notoriously thorough diaries (for which we trust she has an archive earmarked for a distant day). AsMichael Cooney reminds us elsewhere in this issue, Edith was uulike many folklorists in her concern to see songs live, among new hosts or old;Vera's memories demonstrate Edith's interest in the folk music revival from the '50s through the '70s.

Vera also kindly submitted the accompanying biographical and bibliographical notes, based primarily upon material sent to her by Edith.We have made a few additions and alterations to the latter, but do not pretend that these are inclusive listings of Edith's life or work.

girl who met him in Assiniboia, Sas-katchewan. Edith's parents, William andMargaret Fulton, had come from Irelandand settled in Lumsden (population then500), while our family moved to Regina.We were both former members of theRegina Leader-Post Torchbearers' Club,which published a weekly magazine foramateur writers and artists, distributed

No, that's not a typogmphical errorin the title. This article deals with myrecollections of Edith Fowke as a warm,compassionate human being and a dearfriend. She is also, of course, an eminentfolklorist who has been delving in therich fields of Canadian traditional musicfor more than 46 years, producing rec-ords, books, magazine articles, and tapes,the details of which will be set out at theend. So will the details of her associationwith York University and the degrees andhonours that have poured in on her.

My own interest in folhongs wasoriginally sparked and later nourished byEdith's weekly progmms on the CBC inthe late forties: Folk Song 1ime and itssuccessors. She wrote the scripts and pro-vided the records. Bill Reid (now a notedHaida sculptor) did the narration. Theywere wonderful programs, and I quicklybecame a devoted fan.

In late 1951, I moved out to Torontowith my youngest sister, Mollie, and mythree daughters. We arrived on OctoberI ~, and for the first two weeks I wasbusy with the provincial election cam-paign. November 5th, Edith and I met forthe first time when she came over forlunch. We discovered we had a great dealmore in common than our interest infolksongs. We were both socialists andpacifists. We were both omnivorousreaders, with a special interest in murdermysteries. We were both writers andeditors, though in different fields. Wewere both the children of immigmnts.My father was a transplanted NewEnglander, and my mother an English

her husband Frank are such honest,down-to-earth people that I can't imaginethem ever flaunting their superioreducational achievements.

Another difference: I had worked inthe trade union movement for years, forthe IW A and sometimes for the Steel-workers, for Retail, Wholesale, andothers, as well as for the BC Federationof Labour and the Ontario Federation ofLabour. I was dedicated to the unionmovement as well as to the CCF. Edithhad worked for the CCF, Citizens' Fo-rum, Friends of Overseas Students, TheCo-operative Committee for Japanese-Canadians, and the Woodsworth Founda-tion. But in 1952 the Steelworkers, ledby David Lewis, packed the annualmeeting of the CCF and drove out mostof the people who had been running theprograms. Edith fought them for a wholeyear but finally decided it wasn't worththe effort and switched to folklore, whichshe found much more satisfying. I con-tinued to be active in the CCF and thelabour movement, but I shared Edith'sdislike of David Lewis, based on what Ihad seen and heard of him at a conven-tion in Vancouver.

A further difference was that I hadthree children; Edith and Frank had none.However, they treated my girls with thesame warm friendliness they showed tome.

. - .(In 1980, belatedly, we discovered

another bond. As young women, our fa-vourite book had been The Rosary byFlorence L. Barclay, and the recollectionmade both of us shudder.)

There were differences, of course,as well as similarities. One majordifference was my complete lack ofacademic quali-fications. Fortunately, itnever occurred to me that I should feelinferior because of this. And Edith and

And one final difference-Edith hasstayed a trim 120 pounds most of herlife, while I have fought a life-long battleto get back to 110 pounds where 1 be-long, instead of 160 or even higher. (I

child, Linda, was born. And by one ofthose remarkable coincidences that occurfrequently in real life, although no writerwould dare to embed them in fiction,when Mollie was wheeled into a two-bedward she discovered that she was sharingthe room with Richard Johnston's wife.

Another occasion I remember vividlytook place in August the same year whenEdith and Frank invited us to spend aweekend with them at their cottage. Bythat time my husband, Mac, had joinedus. We drove to Island Grove in ourrecently acquired Willys Jeep (whichAlan Mills had renamed the Jillys Weep)and parked. Then we took the ferry toSnake Island in Lake Simcoe and foundthe cottage. It was a wonderful weekend:swimming, sunning, moving rocks so wecould safely dive from the dock, andsinging around a campfire on the beachon Saturday night.

On December 31, 1953, Mac and Iand Mollie and Gerry, were invited to aNew Year's Eve celebration at the newFowke home at 5 Notley Place: a dreamhouse, ranch style, the back overlookinga ravine. Lots of congenial people werethere, including Colin Cameron and hiswife, whom I had known in BC. I gotquite tight and sang for hours. I hopeEdith didn't tape the performance.

In January 1954 we went with theFowkes and our friends Norman andGloria Newton to a Peter Seeger concert.His singing was wonderful, his banjoplaying fantastic, and the warmth of hispersonality spread out from the stage.Two nights later at Notley Place we hadthe chance to assess his performance off-stage, and he was just as real and love-able. With him were the members of afolksong group, and the singing went onand on. Pete was still there when we leftat 2:00 am. He was getting soggy withbeer and disinclined to catch his plane at5:00 am. But I think he made it.

On a June night the same year wewere back at Notley Place with a friendof ours Edith wanted to meet. This was ayoung missionary, Hazel Grace McLean,who had just returned from Africa whereshe was spreading the Gospel, andlearning all she could about the Africansand their history and culture. She broughtalong a native costume and displayed itfor us, also some hand-carved figurines.

Among the guests were Richard Johnstonand his wife and Sam Gesser and hisbrother of Folkways, and two otherfriends of ours. Richard had broughtalong a projector, so we could viewHazel's slides, and later Hazel recorded anumber of native songs for Edith.

In 1954 we headed back to Van-couver (I didn't want to leave, but Macand the girls persuaded me) and onSeptember 30 Edith wrote me about herrecent activities. She told me about hervisit with Burl and Helen Ives in NewYork, and the afternoon she spent ontheir boat which they were trying to sell.She had visited Pete Seeger at Beacon andmet his father, Charles-a marvellousperson with a fabulous knowledge offolksongs. She also met Kenneth Gold-stein for the first time, and his knowledge(of texts, rather than tunes) was equallyfabulous. Alan Mills, she told me, wasnow doing a set of voyageur songs, andEdith would select the songs and writethe notes. She had a new series of chil-dren's songs, Animal Fair, starting onSaturdays on CBC, running ten weeks.She also told me Pete would be comingto Vancouver in October.

On February 20, 1955, Edith wroteagain, telling me Songs to Grow On hadfollowed the Animal Fair programs. Shesaid they missed me at the New Year'sEve party, also at one they held in Janu-ary for Joe Glazer. (I hadn't met him yet,but would later.) Joe and Edith wereworking on a book tentatively entitledSongs for the Workers. Later that waschanged.

By August 30, Edith and Richardwere working on a book of French-Canadian songs which was soon ready forthe publisher.

In November she told me Frank hadfinished painting their bedrooms and wasworking on a record cabinet. Then shehoped he would prepare some built-inbookshelves for her study. She had madeanother trip to New York in October, hadseen Helen Ives, Josh White, JeanRitchie, Moe Asch and others and hadalso seen three plays. She offered me acold cure: 1,500 to 2,000 milligrams ofVitamin C, repeated every two or threehours until the cold disappears. It curedFrank's in one day!

Another letter was sent in December

made it once, back in 1958, but neveragain.) This difference could have inhib-ited our friendship, because I had a ten-dency to resent people who managed tostay slim without even trying. However,I decided very early on that this wasn'ther fault, merely a matter of genes.

14 week after our first meeting Ispent an evening with Edith and Frank,who is an engineer, at their home andwas introduced to her marvellous col-lection of folk records (in those days theywere practically all LPs) and books.Those were only the first two of manyhappy get-togethers during the three yearswe spent in Toronto. We had rentedrooms in a house not far from High Parkand when we staged our first party (anafternoon affair, not a soiree) the Fowkeswere among the 20 guests who crowdedinto our cramped quarters. I servedspaghetti followed by fruit' salad andwhipped cream, we had a song sessionand played The Game (a form of cha-rades) and had a great time.

On June 21, 1952, the big event ofthe day for me was Mollie's wedding toGerry Doherty, but I had to leave it for awhile in the afternoon to entertain at agarden party at Woodsworth House.Edith's friend Merrick Jarrett was alsoperforming. Edith had probably arrangedour participation.

Edith had been busy preparing FolkSongs of Canada, and Richard Johnstonwas preparing the music. She was alwaysasking friends for songs, and I passed onto her "Smoky Mountain Bill," whichwas very popular in Saskatchewan in thethirties. It sounded "folky," and I hadheard it sung by many people, although Inever found a recording. Edith decided toinclude it, although "its origin is a matterof speculation." She thought it might bean American import, but the Library ofCongress had no record of it.

There were other interesting eventsin 1952, most of them involving Edith.We saw Paint Your Wagon, starringBurl Ives, but I reported on that in myprevious article. I lost some weight. (Forme this was front-page news.) I soldsome stories and plays and bought a newguitar. We had a delightful visit withAlan Mills and his wife, Bernie, inMontreal.

In March of 1953. Mollie's first

Unless othenvise noted, all photographs counesy of Edith and Frank FowkeEdith, aged eight, outside the family home in Lumsden, Saskatchewan.

others' stories had been produced onCBC's Summer Fallow in 1956. Perhapsit was around this time that she decidedto adapt one of my stories for radio.! Shehad also edited a book of Dr. Robins'stories, Logging with Paul Bunyan,which came out in the spring of 1956.But her main activity in 1.957 had beencollecting Ontario folk songs with hertape recorder.

In January, 1958 she wrote againasking for further information about myself-styled hermit friend, Stan Botting.She wanted me to send her the words for"I Went to the Woods" and "The DyingOutlaw, " also to have a tape made, and

said I should get a complete list from himof the songs he knew. A month later shethanked me for the tape, said she hadplayed it through several times and en-joyed it very much. She called Stan "apleasant singer" and said he knew someunusual songs. About half of them shehad never heard before, and even theones she was familiar with were consid-erably different in his versions. "TheWreck of the Mary L. McKay" was par-ticularly interesting because HelenCreighton had collected a song called"The Mary L. McKay," which was almostentirely different except for the linesabout the cook. She thought she woulduse "1 Went to the Woods" on a shortitem she was doing for the CBC aboutIrish songs in Canada, scheduled forMarch 17. She also hooed to use "The

Dying Outlaw" in her book, The SongHistory of Canada.

I wrote three letters to Edith inMarch, first telling her that we had ar-ranged to bring Stan over to our home onthe day of the broadcast, so we could allhear it. (His new cabin didn't have elec-tricity.) Then Stan decided he didn't wantany publicity about him going over theair, but he did ask me to tell Edith thathe was born in London, England, in1892 and that his experience in farming,logging, herding stock and pioneeringwas in BC and Alberta.

Finally, I told Edith that I wasapplying for a writing scholarship at theInstituto Allende in San Miguel de Al-lende, Mexico, and needed a letter ofrecommendation. She promptly suppliedone, and I won the scholarship.

In July Edith asked me to check onthe date when Stan learned "The DyingOutlaw, " as Wilf Carter recorded one

with the same title in the 1930s as hisown composition. I asked Stan, and hisreply was very definite. He had heardNels McKim sing it in 1912. But Stanwas upset and feared he might becomeinvolved in a legal action.

Edith and Frank went off to Britainfor a holiday, and had a wonderful time.They saw most of the leading folkloristsand folksingers, plus a lot of scenery.Edith asked me to reassure Stan that heneedn't worry, there would be no legalDroceedinl!s. She also asked me to tell

of 1956. Edith had been very busy in thepast year, mainly with CBC. She andAlan Mills did The Song History OfCanada over CBC from July to Septem-ber and Songs Of the Sea from October toDecember. They were now thinking ofdoing a book along the same lines. FolkSongs of Quebec, which should havebeen out last Easter or the fall of 1955 atthe latest, was still held up at thepublisher's. Burl Ives had made a tripnorth last autumn, and they had a won-derful party at the Variety Club whichwent on till 3:30 am Burl had asked herhow I was doing. Edith was still workingwith Joe Glazer on their book of laboursongs.

I responded in January. We werenow living in the Okanagan and I toldEdith that unfortunately we weren't ableto get any of the programs she had men-tioned. I invited her and Frank to comeand stay with us in the summer. WhenEdith answered in December 1957, shewas working on a radio series on Aus-tralian Bush Ballads with Merrick Jarrettas the singer and narrator. Song Historyof Canada and Songs of the Sea had alsobeen released as a Folkways recordings,and she and Alan had done a third seriesof programs, Legends of Indonesia. SongHistory of Canada made the New YorkHerald-Tribune's list of 100 BestRecords of 1956, and Songs of the Seawas on the 1957 list.

Two of her radio adantations of

Stuart, with Viveca Lindfors, BobChristie and Lloyd Bochner. We hadexcellent seats in boxes and thoroughlyenjoyed it. Marge joined us at the inter-mission. Afterwards, as prearranged, wemet our friends Glen and Diane Morley(Glen had been musical director of theSummerland Singers and Players when Ibelonged, and Diane was a talented com-poser) and their friend, Barbara Sully. Igather from my notes that we all travelledin Barbara's car, but perhaps she had aroomy station wagon. In any case wewent to an after-theatre party at GretchenGrinnell's. (She is Emma Caslor's

MacCol1 and Peggy Seeger when theywere in Vancouver? Well, I hadn't actu-ally met them, but I had gone to AlCox's place and sat on the floor whilethey sang, listened and enjoyed them.

More news in February, that Peggyand Ewan were bringing out a folk musicyear book and had asked Edith to handlethe Canadian section. She said I shouldconsider myself the BC reporter for theyear book and asked for lots of informa-tion. She also told me the release dates ofthe two books had been changed again.Songs of Work and Freedom would belaunched February 12th (Lincoln's birth-day) and Canada's Story in Song wouldcome out a month later.

I sent Edith the information sheneeded, and a half-hour tape of CaptainCates recorded at CBC studios, thankedher for the Fowke/Glazer book which shehad sent and reported that I was singingthe songs and plugging the book at all thefolksong groups. I suggested SteveMcIntyre's bookstore might handle it.

In August I had to pass on the newsthat Captain Cates had died quite sud-denly the previous Saturday. Ten daysearlier he had been to a Hi-Riggersconcert, told two stories and sang twosongs which delighted us. I also toldEdith that People's Book Store was nowstocking Songs of Work and Freedom.And later the same month I thanked Edithfor Song History of Canada. She haddone a wonderful job. I was pleased tosee "The Dying Outlaw" was included.

By December 1960, Folk Song limewas back on the Trans-Canada Network,and Edith hoped we were receiving it.She had heard Burl Ives would be at theKlondike Festival and wondered if theWhite Pass and Yukon Route was in-volved in any way. (It wasn't, but myboss, Roy Minter, was in touch withTom Patterson, who was travelling to theYukon with Burl Ives, and Burl calledme.) In the summer she and Frank hadvisited Sam Eskin, Ben Botkin, JeanRitchie, Oscar Brand, Ruth Rubin, KenGoldstein, Alan Lomax and severalothers. Folkways was releasing an albumof square dance music she had recorded,as well as an album of old Mr. Abbott.Another album of songs by Lamont Til-den might be out before spring. She waslooking for unusual children's songs or

Photo by Phil Thomas

him that most of the lines in his versionwere slightly different from the way Car-ter sang it, and that his version wasbetter.

The next batch of news came inMarch of 1959. The book with JoeGlazer, now retitled Songs of Work andFreedom, should be out before the end ofthe year, also Song History of Canada,done with Alan Mills. She was workingon another book, on Canadian folklorefor children.

Then on July 24, Edith arrived inVancouver. Her aunt, Mrs. Fulton,brought her over to Mollie and Gerry'splace on Braemar Avenue in North Van-couver, where my daughters and I wererenting a suite in the basement. It was awonderful reunion. We had a good visit,got caught up on all the news. I phonedPhil Thomas, and Edith talked to him forhalf an hour. Later my sister Marge andher daughter Marion came over in theircar and we gave Edith a lift back to heraunt's.

The next night we had a get-togetherat the home of Phil and Hilda Thomaswith Al and Jeannie Cox, Barry Hall, andCaptain Cates. It was a lively eveningwith lots of singing and playing, andboth Captain Cates and I put some songson tape. Then he gave me a lift home.

The following day Edith met me atthe office where I was working (TheWhite Pass and Yukon Route) at four.Paul Phillips was supposed to join usthere, but he was delayed and didn'tmake it until five. They talked (I prob-ably joined in now and then) until 5:30.Then Edith and I left for North Vancou-ver and dinner with Mollie and Gerry andtheir children. (By that time they hadseveral.) Mterwards Gerry drove us toLynn Canyon, where he swam and wesimply enjoyed the scenery. And talked.Back at the house, we listened to Edith'srecord, Folk Songs of Ontario, whichwas excellent. Then Gerry drove Edith totown to catch a bus.

On July 3rd my boss was away, but Iworked at the office all day until five,when Edith and Emma Caslor arrived.We went to the St. Regis for a beer andmy sister Marge joined us briefly, thenleft. We had dinner-a sumptuous crabsalad-at the Georgia Coffee Garden.Then we went to see a play, Mary

daughter.) It was an exciting evening forall of us but especially for Glen, asamong the guests was a world-famousconcert pianist, Lloyd Powell, and' Glenwas really thrilled to meet him.

Edith wrote in August to say howmuch she had enjoyed the visit and howsurprised she was to find so many peoplewith a keen interest in folk songs. Shethought that Phil Thomas and PaulPhillips both knew considerably moreabout the subject than any of the youngsingers around Toronto. She liked Mollyand Gerry's house, envied them the loca-tion and had pleasant memories of ourvisit to Lynn Canyon, which was a de-

lightful spot.In December there was another letter

to let me know that Songs of Work andFreedom and Canada's Story in Songwould both be out in January. Edithwanted me to tape some of CaptainCates's songs. And had I met Ewan

11

and hope to see you both again in the nottoo distant future." Steve and his sisterEmma had both sung songs whichinterested her, and another letter came inAugust asking me to send her the wordsand also some children's rhymes whichBarry Hall had promised her. I sent offthe words to " Ace Down in the Hole" the

same month (though I was sure it wasjust a pop song), as well as the miningsong Emma had sung, which was a cleverparody of a Gay Nineties favourite. Butin January the following year I had to

"...with old Mr. Hughey,one of my early infomlants. "

folklore section would have youswooning," I said. Edith had just gotback from Trinidad and was leaving forPhiladelphia in a couple of days. She wascertainly interested, but before she couldmake any offer the whole collection hadbeen offered to Simon Fraser Universityfor $17,000 and negotiations were pro-ceeding.

In December I told Edith what a badyear this had been for me. I had beenhospitalized with rheumatoid arthritis andlater my sister Marge died and a few dayslater so did my favourite cousin, Pris-cilla. Then came the break -up of mysecond marriage. In June of 1966 Edithwas hoping to be in Vancouver for an-other visit. I don't know if she made itbecause I can't find any records, but inAugust I was heading for England andplanned to see her in Toronto. Presum-ably I did so, but again, no records.

Just before Christmas that year Iwrote to Edith reporting on the folk clubswhere I had sung, the folksingers I hadmet (including Jean Ritchie, the Water-sons, the Corries, David Campbell, AlexCampbell, the Ian Campbell Folk Group,Belle Stewart, Dave Swarbrick and Mar-tin Carthy, some of whom were alsofriends of Edith). The following May Itold her about visits with two specialfriends of hers, Eric Winter and JeannieRobertson.

In 1967 Edith was in Nassaufor aweek in February, Washington and Phila-delphia at Easter, spoke at BowlingGreen and Columbus, Ohio, in April, andwhen she wrote to me in May had justreturned from Ottawa, where she spoketo the Women's Canadian Club. She andFrank would be coming to Expo in June,and she planned to take in the NewportFestival in July, as well as the BeersFestival and Mariposa. In addition,throngs of visitors would be arriving, andshe had to keep up her weekly radioseries and continue work on two books.I was returning to England, and Edithasked me to pass on greetings to a num-ber of her British friends. She alsorecommended places where I might singin New York, Toronto, and Montreal.

In February 1968 I was back in Van-couver and intended to fly to London inSeptember, but wanted to attend somefestivals in the east. Could she pass on

games and wondered if I had any.In August 1961 Edith sent another

report on her varied activities (preparingrecords, small assignments from CBC,preparing a section on folk songs andfolk tales for The Literary History ofCanada, &c). She wondered if I had anynew discoveries to report like Stan Bot-ting or Charlie Cates. Peter Wyborn andAlan MacCrae were now in Toronto, andthey had told her the folk song scene inVancouver was riddled with feuds. Did Ihave any details? I replied that I knewnothing about any feuds. I had left NorthVancouver, was now at 777 BurrardStreet, and was planning to come east inJanuary. I looked forward to seeing them.

But Edith and Frank were leavingDecember 23rd to visit Mexico. If theywere still away when I arrived, theycould leave a spare key with a neighbour.In the meantime, they would appreciatereceiving suggestions of places to see andpeople to look up. My reply was lengthy.

When they returned in February1962, they expected to find me at theirplace, bnt instead received a long letterexplaining how all my plans had beenchanged, that instead of travelling toToronto I was marrying the booksellerStephen McIntyre. Edith and Frank hadvisited San Miguel and seen some of myfriends, including the writer DennisWiegand. (Just as I expected, they foundhim where I had left him three yearsearlier, having a few drinks at LaCucaracha.) Reva Brooks, the photog-rapher, and Leonard Brooks, the painter,were away in Spain. But they did managea visit with Romeo Tabuena, the artist,and his wife, Nina, and spent a pleasantfew hours talking and listening torecords. They spent a week in MexicoCity, saw the National Folklore Ballet,visited the pyramids and Xochimilco andTaxco, &c, then drove down to VeraCruz. Coming back they took Highway85 through the mountains, which wasquite spectacular. On the trip they learnedenough Spanish to read road signs andorder meals by pointing at the menu.

Sometime that same year Edith madeanother trip to Vancouver. I can'tremember the date, but in August shewrote to say how much she enjoyed thevisit. "I am glad things have turned outso well for you. I like Steve very much

report that I had tried to pin Barry downon the children's rhymes but was neverable to get hold of him before he took offfor the east. I hoped Edith had madecontact out there.

In 1963 Edith and Frank made an-other trip to Europe that was great funand she also travelled to Ottawa andBanff in June, to Newport, New YorkCity and Philadelphia in July, and NewYork again in October. She would be at-tending the American Folklore Society'smeeting at Detroit in December andWaterloo University's folk festival inJanuary. She was still trying to chasedown children's rhymes. Her book on thesubject was finally taking shape.

In March of 1965 I told Edith aboutthe Eiran Harris collection which Steveand two other booksellers had just ar-ranged to purchase. "The folk song and

the dates?In March I wrote again to thank her

for More Folk Songs of Canada, whichhad just arrived, and again asked for in-formation about festivals. In her reply,Edith recommended I send a letter andtape to Estelle Klein, Artistic Director ofthe Mariposa Festival, which I did. Shebooked me for the New Songwriters'Workshop, and Edith and I arranged togo to the Beers Festival together. A goodtrip and two good festivals. Then I wenton to New York and Ottawa and eventu-ally England, while Edith returned toToronto, attended the annual generalmeeting of the Canadian Folk MusicSociety in October, spent a week inOttawa in November, and finally headedfor Bloomington, Indiana, to take part inthe annual general meeting of the Ameri-can Folklore Society.

One of my letters went astray, soEdith didn't write again until May of1969. She was just back from a trip toVancouver to see her aunt, had phonedmy sister Mollie while she was there, andgave me their latest news. She didn'tthink she would be going to Newport thisyear but was considering going to Britainin August, when the International FolkMusic Council would be meeting in Edin-burgh and the Blairgowrie Festival wouldalso be taking place. I replied in June,giving her details of various folk festivalsI recommended. I wouldn't be there whenshe came but said she was welcome touse my bedsitter in Tooting Bec.

Later I learned that when Edith ar-rived, all the hotels were jammed, so itwas lucky for her that she could go to myplace. She had a fine time at the Edin-burgh conference, the high spot of whichwas an excellent ceilidh, and then wentup to Blairgowrie, where she had her firstchance to hear Willie Scott and DavyStewart. Belle and Alex were there (thefounders of the Singing Stewarts of Blair-gowrie), and for the first time she heardtheir daughter Sheila sing and was de-lighted. "I think she's going to be evenbetter than Belle and Jeannie," she toldme.

music? Would it be better to go in Au-gust? I responded, probably recommend-ing Keele, though I can't locate a copy ofthe letter. July was the month of theCambridge Festival, but there were othersin August. I don't know if I mentionedthe Hobby Horse Festival at Padstow, butI certainly should have.

I wrote Edith in May, told her I hadmet an old friend of hers, Bob Walker,who was now running the Worksop FolkClub in Nottinghamshire. He wanted herto come and stay with him and his wife.(This was an excellent club, incidentally.I hope Edith managed to visit them but Ican't recall her mention-ing it.) And Iwrote again in November, telling her I'dbe leaving Christmas Day to return to theUK, but en route I was booked forDecember 29th at Fiddlers' Green inToronto and then for three nights at theYellow Door in Montreal. I think Istayed with her on the 29th and 30th, andthen went on.

In June 1972 Edith thanked me formy notes and the offer to use my room.She was booked into the Penn Club forfour days after arrival, then would be

wandering. However, my place mightcome in handy later on. I wrote to herthe same month recommending two folkclubs in York, and said I was lookingforward to seeing her at Mariposa.

I arrived in Toronto on July 13,phoned Edith and arranged to meet. ThenI went to the Executive Motor Hotel andhad reunions with lots of friends, as wellas meeting new people. Ken Goldstein ar-rived about ten, and Edith just behindhim. The three of us went to her place,where Ken and I stayed overnight. Itrained all night, and next morning theisland was one vast bog. That was Fri-day. On Saturday, things were no better.I gave one concert from a picnic table,then went to Area 6, where Joni Mitchellwas performing. When she finished Iwent backstage, and we had a good visit.Later Faith Petric of San Francisco and Iwent to the hotel to have a hot rye, as wewere both absolutely sodden. The bar wasclosed. So we walked over to the picketline at Toronto Western Hospital and Iwrote three songs for the pickets and ledthem in the singing. Then we went backto the hotel. Edith was there, and I wenthome with her.

operated with them. Heading south, Edithstopped in Yorkshire to visit our mutualfriends, Bill and Wendy Price, and theytook her to one of the local clubs. "I wasdelighted with the vigor of the Britishfolk scene-it made me most envious for,as you know, Canada has nothing tocompare with it."

Back in London she went to CecilSharp House for a Saturday night concertand to another club where the Johnstons(a fine Irish group) were the guests. Shealso visited Eric Winter, who had becomea good friend of mine as well, and BillLeader and Leslie Shepard and BertLloyd, but missed Ewan and Peggy, whowere on holidays. In addition she sawthree plays.

When Edith got back to Toronto, af-ter a very pleasant three weeks, she foundthat Frank had not spent such a restfultime. In fact, the two Basenji pups,Adam and Gypsy, and their mother,Sherry, had almost driven Frank up thewall. Sherry had chewed the big chairdownstairs into pieces, and consequentlythey had to move most of the furnitureout of the recreation room. They had al-ready sold two from Sherry's litter butEdith thought they would have to sellAdam as well. Sally Go Round the Sunwas due out within the next month, andshe was expecting page proofs of Lum-bering Songs any day.

On December 31 I arrived in Torontoby train, and Edith met me. We drovehome to park my stuff and say hello tothe dogs, then with Frank we went to theNew Year's Eve party being held by BillWhite's choir, which Frank and I hadbelonged to so long ago. It was a won-derful nostalgic evening. The next day Iwent on to Montreal and New York andLondon.

Edith wrote in February 1970, saidshe had received no letters from me sinceI left but thanked me for the photos ofthe pups and of Ken Goldstein. They hadsold Gypsy, not Adam. They were nowtrying to civilize Adam by bringing himupstairs, but he always wanted Sherry tochase him, and she was always happy tooblige. Edith was thinking of making an-other trip to Britain in 1971, perhaps inJuly, and wanted to know which were thebest festivals. Should she aim for Keeleor were there better ones for traditional

With friend Mary Ramsay she travel-led to Inverness and then made a bus tourthrough the Highlands to Skye. The scen-ery on that route (as I know from experi-ence) is great, and luckily the weather co-

Canadian Folk Music BULLEl1N 30.4 (1996) ...13

I wrote two songs. After dinner she re-corded some of my songs on her newSony. Then we went to Fiddlers' Green.Bruce (Utah) Phillips and Janey Vosswere the main guests, while the Boys ofthe Lough, Martin Carthy and others didfloor spots. It was a great evening. TamKearney went home and got his calendarand when he returned, gave me a bookingfor August 24. Next morning Edith droveme to the station to catch the bus forMontreal.

From 1972 to 1976 we exchangedvery few letters, mainly because we wereboth so busy, but we did see each other

Sunday I took bus and boat to the but we did arrange a short visit a fewisland and again saw lots of friends. Had days later. Usually the subway trip tosupper in the performers' area with Warden is fairly humdrum, but this timeEdith. Joni joined us for a while, then at one stop a woman, her face all bloody,left with Jackson Browne. I went to the was being loaded into an ambulance. AndOpen Sing. Suddenly there was a mass at another point a second woman was be-exodus. The crowd had discovered that ing put in a different ambulance, with anBob Dylan was on the island. I went inhalator standing by. I never did finddown to the boat, found Edith and Ken out what had happened.Goldstein aboard. We got home early, In June I was in London again and inwent to bed. the West End found a copy of Edith's

Monday Edith delivered Kenny to the Penguin Book of Canadian Folk Songs.hotel, then took me to the bus depot and I was surprised to read in the introductionwe said our goodbyes. that thanks were also due to "Peggy

Now there's a sudden leap to July 5, Seeger and Vera Johnson, who tran-1973, when I scribed somearrived at the of the songs."Ex e cut i vel do have aMotor Hotel vague recollec-for the next tion of writingyear's Mari- out the musicposa Festival. for one songThis time I but can't re-was booked, member whatand shared a it was. Edithroom wi th f is always con-Malvina Rey- I s c i e n t i 0 u snolds, which '*-,- .-. "-"-- about thanking

was g re a.t. Calgary 1994. Mike Ballantyne guides Edith through his new book, Pint Pot and Plough, then waits for the ~ple ,,:ho as-Barbara Gll- verdict. It was positive. -Photo by GWL SlSt her 10 anymour, who way.had been a On Sep-friend of mine since the late 1930s when tember 6th I was visiting Fiddlers' Greenshe was still Barbara Donald, before she again, and the guests were Buffalo Girls.married Clyde, came over to the hotel The next day I phoned Edith and talkedand we had a few beers together and got to her for about half an hour, then tookcaught up on news. The theme of this off for Malton Airport and London.year's festival was Women's Liberation, Then it was 1975, and in January Iand it led to a lot of interesting pro- had a gig at Fiddlers' Green which wasgrams. Later a gang of us, including Jean great, as usual. The next day Edith metCarignan, Giles Losier, and John Allen me at Warden and took me to NotleyCameron, went to CBC to do a program Place for dinner and the evening. Then Iunder the guidance of Elizabeth Gray, returned to Tam's and later went on towho was filling in for Peter Gzowski. It London. In June I returned to Vancouver,was a mess. However, it was finally over then flew to Toronto to sing at Mariposa.and when Elizabeth Gray insisted CBC Spent a night with Edith, then moved towould pay my taxi fare to Edith's place, Tam's place and shared a booking at Fid-I didn't argue. dIers' Green with Bill Steele, a friend of

After reading a booklet of Edith's mine from the San Francisco Folk Clubwhich said aspirins destroy Vitamin C, who wrote that marvellous song,I decided to stop taking aspirins (which "Garbage." Edith was there. Off torelieved the pain from arthritis) and start London again, and back to Vancouver inon massive doses of Vitamin C. Unfor- November.tunately, there were so many unpleasant In March of 1976, I did a booking atside effects that I went back to the aspi- the Yellow Door in Montreal, thenrins. The day after the broadcast, Edith bussed to Toronto and went to Tam'swent out for lunch and the afternoon, and place. Next day, the 9th, was very spe-

now and then. Edith came to the Augustbooking, and we had a wonderful night.I spent a few days with my friends Jimand Ellen Bury, then checked into theFord Hotel on August 30. Edith treatedme to lunch at a restaurant on St. ThomasStreet, then I had to rush off and do vari-ous chores, ending up at the Royal YorkHotel to register for a science fiction con-vention, Torcon II. By 7 o'clock I wasexhausted and in pain, so went back tothe Ford and to bed. Sunday I moved in-to the Royal York. What a contrast, sheerluxury! Monday at 3:30 the con ended,and I led a final singsong in the pianolounge. At 6:30 I took a bus to the air-port, boarded the plane for London,found my nonsmoking seat and saved onefor Val Robb, another of Edith's friends,whose husband is a very talented singer/songwriter.

On February 26, 1974, I was singingat Fiddlers' Green and again there was agood crowd, including Barbara Gilmourand the Burvs. Edith couldn't make it,

First Class is terrific! It's not just theattentiveness of the stewards, who arealways anxious to do anything to pleaseyou; it's not just the free food and drinksthey press on you; it's not just the menusthey offer and the roast they bring in ona tray and slice before your eyes, offeringyou rare or well done pieces, whicheveryou prefer; it's not just the way they pre-pare the seats so that you can stretch outover three of them and sleep comfortably.It's the combination of all these things. Ithink I could enjoy being rich. It's theprocess of accumulating money thatwould bother me, and I think Edith feelslike this as well.

In November I returned toVancouver. Not First Class.

In 1977 I wrote to Edith from Lon-don, telling her that my song book wasout and I had asked my daughter Sandyto mail her a copy. That brings us to1978. In January I was in Toronto again.We had a small crowd but a good nightat Fiddlers' Green on the 20th, and on the24th Frank collected me at Warden andtook me home. We had dinner, chatted,I sang a few songs and stayed the night.The next day Edith drove me to Warden.On March 19th I flew from Vancouver toLondon and made the return trip on May14. In June I was in Toronto, did a gig atFiddlers' Green (another good night).

On the 22nd I went to the West-minster Hotel on Jarvis Street, a newvenue for Mariposa, met friends, stayedthere overnight. June 23n1 I spent anexhausting day at the festival and the nextday hosted a workshop I had suggestedon the songs of Malvina Reynolds. HedyWest sang, then Jean Redpath. Then JoanPelton, Michael Lucas, Michael Cooneyand I alternated to the end. I spottedEdith in the audience, but by the time wefinished she had disappeared. However,I phoned her after dinner and had a longtalk, and we arranged to meet the nextday. The 25 was a good day on theisland. Edith and I met and got caught upon news. I introduced her to Chris Kear-ney. One of Chris's best friends was theson of a good friend and co-worker ofEdith's, so they had lots to talk about.

In August I was booked at the Van-couver Folk Music Festival and also atthe Owen Sound festival. On the 21" Ibussed to Toronto. attended to various

chores, then took the subway to Warden,where Edith picked me up. We had din-ner and a pleasant visit, and I stayedovernight.

In 1979 I arrived in Toronto onMarch 1 ~ after a long and complicatedtrip. We had a great night at Fiddlers'Green on the 2nd, in their new quarters.Some of Edith's students showed up, andwe had a pleasant chat. The rest ofMarch, I was travelling to Hespeler,Toronto, Montreal, New York City,White Plains, Saratoga Springs, Montrealand Ottawa.

One day in May there was a phonecall from Edith, who had just arrived inLondon after a visit to Padstow. It waselection day, so I voted, then met her atCecil Sharp House. She thanked me forthe letter I had sent on April 1~, en-closing skipping rhymes and games I hadbeen carrying around for months and tell-ing her about the visit from her students.We got caught up on our latest news.Mike Yates of Topic Records joined us.After agreeing on arrangements to take atrip together the next day, and anotherthe following day, we parted.

I was at Euston Station well beforetime and stationed myself at Platform 6.I didn't realize the train leaving fromthere would depart at 11 :40, whereas theone we wanted was leaving at 10:40 fromPlatform 13. When I didn't see Edith Ibegan to worry, so I phoned her hotel.She was in her room, they told me, so Iasked to be put through. Somebody said,"Hello?" I said, "Is that Edith?" The onlyanswer I got was, "Hello?" I hung up andtried again. This time there was no an-swer. I reached the manager again; shesent the porter up, and he reported Edithwas not in her room. Then I checked thedeparture time at the gate where I waswaiting and discovered I had goofed. Abit more investigation, and I found Ishould have been at Platform 13, but the10:40 had already left.

I assumed Edith was on it, so theonly thing I could do was catch the 11:40and try to find her in Birmingham. Un-fortunately, my assumption was incorrect.Edith had arrived too late to take the10:40, but she took it for granted I wason it. Because of our faulty reasoning,we didn't look for each other, justboarded the train and found seats a few

cial, as we went out to the airport tomeet my friends Jacqui and Bridie, whoran the Coach House Folk Club in Liver-pool (the best club in England, I thought)and were just starting an American tour.Also at Fiddlers' Green that night weretwo more good friends, Cathy Fink andDuck Donald. Jacqui and Bridie did twoof my songs, and Cathy and Duck alsodid two, which pleased me no end. Edithwas there, and I'm sure she enjoyed it asmuch as I did. I had already sent her acopy of my first record, "Bald Eagle"(produced by Sweet Folk All RecordingsLtd.), but now Boot Records was alsobringing it out under licence, and it wasgood to have LPs to sell.

In April I was in England, late inJune in Toronto for Mariposa and Fid-dlers' Green. Edith and I had a ratherhurried visit on June 2S1h, as she wasleaving for England the next day.

On July 23, after almost a month'stravel, filling bookings here and there, Icaught the bus for New York City andsubsequently White Plains. But justoutside Herkimer, NY, the bus crashedand overturned. One woman was killed;the rest of us were all taken to hospital.I had to phone my friends in WhitePlains and cancel the visit. Five dayslater I was released with what the doctorsdiagnosed as "deep bruising" and caughta bus for Toronto. There I phoned Edith,who was just back from England, andagain we had a long chat.2

On September 15 I arrived back inToronto and found that this time I wouldbe staying with David and CarolineParry, as Tam and Jim were in Britain.We had a great night at Fiddlers' Greenon the 1 ~. Edith and Frank were boththere, and we were able to get caught upon news.

On October 3rd. I turned up at theVancouver Airport for my Wardair flightto London, only to learn that the travelagent had given me the wrong departuretime, and the plane had already left. Theybooked me on another flight leaving nextday. The stewardess came to me with asad story about three people who wantedto sit together but couldn't because therewere no vacant seats. Would I mindmoving up to First Class?

I'll probably never have thatexoerience al!ain. but I can assure vou

Canadian Folk Music BULl.El1N 30.4 (1996) ..15

Then Shelly asked me to sing "God's NotDead," which is not a filksong and hasnothing to do with science fiction, but Isang it anyway.

The next day was Saturday, and awonderful day at Mariposa. Edith and Itook the same ferry back and had dinnertogether. Royston Wood (another memberof the Young Tradition) and a friendjoined us. Sunday was another great dayat the festival, and we made the most ofit.

grew steadily worse. She thought thetrain was falling over and began to shout.The conductor came to investigate. Heled us to a first class compartment andleft us there. Mter the dizziness camenausea. Edith threw up the dinner and thelunch and the wine and maybe more. Iwent with her to the lavatory next doorso she could clean up a little, and whileshe was standing at the sink and I washolding her, she passed right out. It wasfortunate I was gripping her arm, as Iwas able to ease her to the floor insteadof allowing her to crash.

By the time we reached LiverpoolStreet, she was still very shaky. I helpedher to the taxi rank, left her leaningagainst a fence while I approached thefirst couple in the line-up and asked ifthey would let us jump the queue. Thewoman's reply, delivered in loud high-pitched Cockney, was, "Not bloody like-ly!" I managed to get help from the FirstAid man at the station, and we took ataxi to her hotel near Earl's Court. Ihelped Edith to her room and to bed,then left.

In the morning I phoned and shewas still weak, but otherwise fine. I wassinging at Croydon that night, but shehad arranged to visit Eric Winter, so wesaid our goodbyes and promised to seeeach other again at Mariposa.

On June l()lh I was in Vancouver andhad a phone call from David Warren inToronto asking me to participate in apanel on filksongs at a science fictionconvention on June Ism. (Filksongs arethe science fiction equivalent of folk-songs. They are usually written to tradi-tional tunes but deal with SF themes.) AsEdith was also to be on the panel, Ididn't hesitate.

That date was also the first day ofMariposa. We didn't stay for the eveningconcert but went over to the Ramada Innfor Beta Draconis, the official name ofthe con. Edith had prepared a tape ofselected filksongs, and Shelly Rabino-vitch and Jane Home sang related folk-songs. At the end I did "Time, Boys,Time" (which I had written as a cam-paign song for the British bid to hold aworldcon, using a traditional tune) and"The Sweetheart of Sordido V," in whichI used my own tune but celebrated acharacter in a story by Roger Zelazny.

We didn't see each other again untilSeptember of 1980, but a lot had hap-pened in the interim. I had made twomore tours of the British folk clubs, wentto the Owen Sound festival and the Phila-delphia festival, my friends in WhitePlains, &c. And I wasn't the only onewho had been busy. Edith and Judy Mer-ril had both been working on a projectedbook, tentatively entitled The Best ofFilk. On September lQ1h I was able tolook over the proposed book and wasastonished to see how much they had ac-complished. I suggested a few additions.Edith wanted the words to the filksongsI had done on the panel, and I promisedto send the music later. I also gave herthe words of the "Star Wars Round,"which I had picked up somewhere orother.

Edith dug out her copies of theTorchbearers' Magazine, dating back to1929, and a scrapbrook of her own con-tributions, written between the ages often and fifteen. She hadn't seen them foryears and was amazed to discover she hadwritten both fiction and poetry. I read itall and got a big charge out of it. We al-so had lots of news to catch up on andtalked until 10:45, when she drove me toWarden station.

The next day was Friday, September12, and I was half of a double bill at Fid-dlers' Green, the other half being StanRogers. The place was packed, and Edithwas one of those who helped to pack it.We had a great night.

Once again we separated, and onceagain there were no letters (although I didsend her a batch of stories collected frommy grandson and a bunch of songs fromhis friend Kevin.) On June 28, 1982,Edith wrote to say she hoped to be inVancouver at the end of July and in Eng-land about August 16. She still wanted

cars apart. We didn't see each other whenwe got off at Birmingham either. Edithtook a taxi to Roy Palmer's place; I tooka bus to my cousin Norah's. There Istarted phoning. There were 30 R. Pal-mers in the phone book, and I tried 15 ofthem, with no luck. I tried BBC, but theycouldn't help. I did finally reach a RoyPalmer who said he collected folk musicand didn't know of any other, but Edithwasn't there. I finally realized he wasputting me on and hung up. I phoned thelibrary, but it was closed.

At last I decided to call my folk-singing friend John Swift, and it turnedout that his wife, Jacquie, had the num-ber. I called and talked to Edith, whosuggested we catch the 8: 18 to Euston.That was fine with me, so we enjoyedour separate visits.

When I reached New Street Station,I found there was no 8:18 to Euston,only an 8:53, and it was a slow train,travelling via Nuneaton. We had lots totalk about on the way, so that was noproblem. It was after 11:00 when wereached Euston and caught the NorthernLine tube heading south. I told Edith sheshould get off at Embankment, and shechecked the map and said that was thethird stop. I said, "Yes," but I didn'tbother checking-which was anothergoof. After Edith left, I noticed the sign"Charing Cross" and realized this was theold Strand station, recently renamed. Thewrong one. The last District and CircleLine trains had stopped, so Edith wouldhave to wait for a bus. She didn't reachthe hotel until quarter to one.

The next day we met at LiverpoolStation as arranged; took the train toNorwich and a taxi to Peter and AntheaBellamy's place. Peter was a member ofthe Young Tradition, a trio who had esta-blished a name for themselves in Britain,Canada and the USA. We had lunch withthem, lots of discussion of people andevents in the folk world, and then dinner.Edith was on antibiotics, so she restrictedher drinks to two small glasses of wine.It was a very pleasant visit, and we weresorry to leave but had to. Peter ordered ataxi, and we caught the train we wereaiming for.

The train left on schedule and every-thing was fine, but suddenly Edith com-plained of feeling dizzy, and the dizziness

16... BlR.IEl1N de musiquefolklorique canadienne 30.4 (1996)

him only 89. For "only" 89, he wasdoing well except for some loss ofhearing. Edith was doing well too,though a little fragile.

In April of 1995 I wrote to Ediththanking her for the introduction to mymemoir in the Bulletin and giving hernews of myself, my three children, sixgrandchildren and six great-grandchil-dren. Later I sent her another copy of mysongbook. She responded in May, enclos-ing various information I needed for thisarticle.

1 know Edith has been a great helpto folksingers and collectors all acrossCana-da and elsewhere. She is stillstretching out a helping hand to usthrough her books, her articles, and herrecords, and it is a process that goes onand on. Thank you, Edith, on behalf ofall of us. And my personal "thank you"for doing my laundry when you stayed inmy bedsitter at Tooting Bec and leavinga cheque to help with the rent and phone.And for sending me $100 when I wasbroke in Mexico, needing money to getback to Vancouver and find another job.Thank you for allowing me to becomeacquaint-ed with your Basenjis, Sherryand her son Adam, and take them forwalks. (A very strenuous business, I canassure you.) And for introducing me toso many of your friends, some of whomhave since become friends of mine aswell.

the music for "The Sweetheart of SordidoV." There was also a letter from JudyMerril saying the anthology was almostcomplete and they wanted my permissionto include the two songs, but unfortu-nately I didn't receive these letters untilOctober 1", when I returned to Vancou-ver. Later in October I tripped over mypurse, crashed into the wall and brokemy right arm, so I couldn't write out anymusic until the cast came off.

Now to 1983. In May I had a phonecall from Phil Thomas to let me knowEdith was in town. I talked to her, andwe arranged to meet at the Joyce Loopthe next day at five. We each had a bur-ger at Bino's, then took the bus to mynew home at Le Coeur Housing Co-oper-ative. As well as exchanging news, wewent over my collection of murder mys-teries, and Edith recommended a lot ofwriters who were new to me. I listed allthe people she spoke of and in themonths that followed, tried them all andbegan collecting them: Douglas Clark,Michael Delving, Joseph Farrington, SaraWoods, Stephen Greenleaf, J.R.L. An-derson, &c.

I was still working through the list in1984. In March I had to give up my Lon-don bedsitter. I was no longer working asa legal secretary and couldn't afford it.And I was so busy working for the co-opwhere I lived that I had no time for cor-respondence. But in January I readEdith's article about an Ontario murderballad in the Bulletin, and in May I sawa story in the Sun reporting that Edithhad won the $2,<XX> Vicky MetcalfAward honouring authors writing foryoung people. I made a note to myself towrite and congratulate her, but alas, Ifailed to do so. In July there was a call

I have only one regret. I know thatlater on you began playing bridge andsoon became an expert, and I wish I hadbeen able to see you operating in thatvenue. Ah well. mavbe next vear.

from Toronto from Edith. They wereboth fine, and she planned to visit theUK in August.

In February 1986, there was anothercall from Edith. She hadn't heard fromme for a long time. She and Frank wereboth fine, and she would be out here fora meeting in May. On May 29th I wentout to Gage Towers and had lunch withEdith and Judy Merril, got caught up ontheir news. On November 1, I was backat UBC for the AGM of the CanadianFolk Music Society. I listened to the lastpart of the Captain Cates workshop,talked to Edith and to Phil Thomas, thenwent to other workshops. Afterwards Philand Hilda Thomas and Edith and I shareda Chinese dinner. They left in the car fora concert and dance at the ANZA Cluband I bussed home.

In 1988 I found another snippet ofnews in the Sun, a review of Edith'slatest book, on children's games.

Our next meeting was in 1991. Onthe 4th of June Edith and Frank were inVancouver, en route to an Alaska cruise.Al Cox joined us, then Barry Hall. Wehad a pleasant evening, with songs byHilda, Barry, Phil, Al and myself, andlots of talk and laughter. Then Phil droveEdith and Frank to their hotel in Rich-mond and dropped me at a convenientbus stop.

In 1991, I received a song book andgreetings from Eric Winter. Edith hadtaken the photo used on the cover.

In May of 1993 I was in Toronto atthe AGM of the Co-operative HousingFederation of Canada. On our only freenight I took the subway to Warden, asarranged earlier, and Frank met me. Ithink Frank told me he was 93 but saidhe was born in 1904. which would make

1 The original title was "The Long Night"; it was published in Maclean's magazine on April 15, 1953, and resold to John Bull, a

British magazine, but their fiction editor had the story rewritten to give it a British setting and make it conform to English policesystems. Mter that the John Bull version was resold to Danish and Dutch magazines under a new title, "Who Has Seen This Man?"The man who did the rewrite, I.C. Storey, asked for the right to adapt it for television and this was granted, subject to my approvalof the script, but it was never received. I have copies of the Dutch and Danish publications, and I used to have a copy of John Bull,but it has disappeared. This annoys me because I am pretty sure that the story Edith adapted for radio was the John Bull version.Edith's script was entitled "Flood on the Goodwins." I don't know where that title came from, certainly not from me. The Goodwinsare in the Straits of Dover, and my original story was set in Canada and the USA. It was broadcast by CBC over the Halifax station.

2 A doctor later found I had cracked ribs. He prescribed pain-killers, which helped me to get through a two-night booking at the

Regina Folk Guild. Then I got a lift to Calgary for another gig. As a result of that accident, my lawyer managed to extract $3,000from the bus company, and I immediately arranged for the publication of the Vera Johnson Song Book No.1. I frequently tellDOODle that No.2 will be out as soon as I can aff'I¥lijre anothet bus accident.