THE DAY AFTER MONTREAL'S UNIVERSAL AND INTERNATIONAL Exposition (Category One) opened in 1967, Charles came home laughing so hard that he hicupped. It was because on Opening Day itself, April 27, the most popular Canadian TV news anchor in the world -- yes, in the world -- the handsome, elegant, unflappable Dean Kaye of CFCF-TV had been Master of Ceremonies for international radio and TV audiences.
In the parking lot of the International Broadcast Centre he found his reserved space, stepped out of his shiny new car, bent over to look under it for the cause of "a sound", and felt his pants split at the back. He calmly put on a trench coat he kept on the back seat. It would look odd on a sunny, warm day, but he'd stand at a mike, not be on cameras for long. Then he calmly headed into the building.
Hours later, he found a very tall, very heavy light standard lying in his car, from hood to trunk; in the morning it had stood directly in front of the car. Dean calmly discussed the matter with officials in the IBC, then took a taxi home. A letter from the Department of National Revenue in Ottawa informed him that he owed $2,000 more in taxes than his accountant had calculated. Dean calmly wrote a cheque.
He was not an ambitious soul, but was gifted with a pleasant voice and perfect diction. He was reliable and easy to work with. He deserved his position at CFCF-TV and world-wide success came when English-language marketing went global. Canadians spoke "a mid-Atlantic dialect", English that was understood in the U.S., in all 53 nations of the British Commonwealth, and in countless other countries. Dean was considered the best reader in Canada, every advertising agency's clients wanted only the best, and thus he was seen or at least heard in commercials wherever English was used on radio and TV.
In one sense he was the right man in the right place at the right time. Just not on Expo 67's Opening Day.
My three cotton dresses were ready then. There are countless words online about every aspect of the Fair, and Charlie and I had press passes so we often went professionally. We also had many experiences with visitors. Two attacks of sciatica struck me during the Fair, each lasting five weeks. The fact that I loved Montreal and showing it off motivated me to learn what exercises I must do and what behaviours to avoid.
Visitors who stayed with us were warned about our long-haired cat; our one bathroom; that singles slept on a folding cot in our dining room-to-be; that one member of a couple used it while the other got the sofa bed in the den. I encouraged stays of at least three days, preferably seven or even 10, and prepared notes about various walking tours for days when I couldn't guide guests myself. I was still working at Marianopolis.
When friends stayed in hotels or university residences, I helped make reservations. Although I no longer edited Montreal Panorama de Montreal I got a copy every month and could plan friends' days in minutes while riding a bus or soaking in the bathtub. Having house guests meant catching up on personal news in detail instead of using phones or the Royal Mail. Money was never involved, but there always were thoughtful thank-you gifts.
Many friends found accommodations through the provincial government's non-profit Logexpo, a very efficient registry of all types within 100 miles of Montreal, including private homes and campgrounds. Rates were kept no higher than in the previous year ($5-40) because providers normally operate on profits well below 100 per cent capacity but in 1967 they all had waiting lists.
I didn't register our apartment with Logexpo but used its way of keeping count of guests -- one person in one bed for one night. I reached 88 before I lost track, did report that to Logexpo for its statistics.
There were greedy people keen to overcharge visitors, but also telephone numbers to call when we became aware of price-gouging. The press reported names and addresses of cheaters, especially if they were closed down.
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GLIMPSES of how Canada worked: a writer's memoir.
Non-FictionDuring the first 30 years of my journalistic career in the second half of the 20th century, good jobs of all kinds were available all over Canada. Those of us born in the 1930s and early '40s were in great demand because our generation was very smal...
