Mayor Linnsie Clark Part 1 of 2

In Part One of a very special Bring Back The Porch, Mayor Linnsie Clark flips the script, taking the role of interviewer to explore the life and insights of Brian Konrad. With a curious mind and a rich family history rooted in Medicine Hat, Brian shares captivating stories that highlight the city's development and its unique heritage.

Brian Konrad's journey began in Medicine Hat, where his family has deep historical roots. His grandfather, John Park, arrived in the area in 1904, long before it became a city. Brian fondly recounts how his grandfather came to the region as a fireman for the Canadian Pacific Railway (CPR) with dreams of returning to Saskatchewan to start a chicken farm. Instead, the family flourished in Medicine Hat, and Brian’s anecdotes reflect a strong connection to the community. This personal history sets the tone for a rich exploration of the city’s transformation over the years.

The CPR played a crucial role in shaping Medicine Hat’s identity. Brian explains that the decision to build a bridge across the river was pivotal. Despite warnings from Indigenous leaders about potential flooding, the railway was established, leading to rapid growth. Brian highlights how the CPR not only facilitated transportation but also led to the discovery of natural gas, paving the way for various industries. This strategic foresight allowed Medicine Hat to thrive as a centre of industry, earning it the nickname "Gas City."

At its peak, Medicine Hat was a bustling manufacturing centre. Brian reminisces about the diverse industries that once called the city home, including crayon and mattress factories. These businesses thrived due to Medicine Hat’s strategic location along the river, which enabled efficient distribution. The population surged from 6,000 to nearly 12,000 in just a few years, showcasing the city’s rapid development during the early 20th century. However, Brian notes the challenges faced during and after the World Wars, which led to significant changes in the manufacturing landscape.

The conversation takes a poignant turn as Brian and Linnsie discuss the Indigenous history of Medicine Hat. The name itself is steeped in tradition, with various stories explaining its origin, including one about a medicine man losing his hat. Brian reflects on the significance of Saratoga Park and the Métis community that has existed in Medicine Hat since before European settlement. He emphasizes the resilience of the community despite historical challenges and the importance of remembering this heritage.

Brian’s career in media has provided him with a unique perspective on the evolution of community attitudes and the impact of storytelling. He recalls how his early interest in broadcasting was sparked by a childhood tabletop hockey game, illustrating his lifelong passion for sharing narratives. This thread of curiosity has shaped his understanding of Medicine Hat's history and its people, emphasizing the vital role of media in community connection.

Brian Konrad’s insights reveal the intricate tapestry of Medicine Hat’s history, woven together by families, industry, and a rich Indigenous culture. His anecdotes highlight the importance of understanding our roots to appreciate the present and shape the future. As we reflect on the stories shared in this episode, it becomes clear that the curiosity and resilience of individuals like Brian play a crucial role in keeping the community's history alive.

Chapters

00:00 Introduction to Curiosity and Background
02:54 The Historical Significance of Medicine Hat
04:47 Industry Ev

Thank you for listening and sharing you are one in a million! We are excited to announce our community is growing and we couldn't do it with out you! 

Hey we need your support. Like and subscribe to Bring Back The Porch Podcast

Transcript

0:00

Hey, this is Brian again. And I'd like to ask you to do a favor. We can't do this work without people like you. So if you can, please, like, share, subscribe. Tell your friends about bring back the porch. Something's different. I got it. You're on the wrong side of the table. I'm supposed to be over there, but didn't. Not today, not today. Kind of a Sadie Hawkins feel to this. And if you remember, Sadie Hawkins dances. Used to be where the girls asked the guys. They they changed roles. So for this episode of Bring Back the Porch, Mayor Lindsay Clark is going to be asking the questions. And I am on the hot seat, so to speak. This episode of Bring Back the Porch, brought to you by Bernie Leahy, River Street Realty. Let's get you home. welcome to bring that back the porch. Thank you. I'm Lindsay Clark, and here with me today is Brian Conrad. That's right. Welcome to the show. Well. Thank you. It's good to be here. I very excited to interview you. You. One of my favorite qualities is curiosity. And you are a curious person. I am. In the sense that you have the quality of being curious. Not that you are a peculiar person. Yes. Thanks for making that designation. There be some out there will argue with you. Oh, well, why don't you tell us a little bit about where you grew up and and, how you came to be in Medicine Head, Alberta. I was born in Medicine Hat. I come from a family that, my grandma, my grandfather, John Pak, came to Medicine Hat in April of 1904. Wasn't even a city yet. It was still a town. It was the, territory of Assiniboine. He came here with the CPR as a fireman. His plan, I learned through reading letters that he exchanged with my grandmother. They were then just engaged. Was to make enough money to go back to Fleming, Saskatchewan, where she was to buy a chicken farm. Oh, and he retired here in 1946, and he's now resting comfortably out in hillside. So deep roots in the community. I always joke that I was born by the third lamp post in the arena parking lot, because that's where the old hospital was. So he did. He never he never made it back to. Never made it back to Fleming? Nope. They stayed here, raised our four and their family, including my mother. And, and I came along in 1955. God. That's old. Just seems like yesterday, but time flies. Yeah. I mean, I'm. So when you you mentioned your, grandfather worked with the rail engineer. The the CPR, the railway was a really important part of medicine hearts, history and development. What what are some of the milestones for Medicine Hat in relation to the rail? How how did that help us to become the city we are today? Well, we wouldn't be where we are if the CPR hadn't come through here and decided to put a bridge across the river. And, as I've said in some of my our towns right there, the first controversy began because, you know, how we like to say if we were going to put something here, somebody would say, oh, no, don't put it there or put it over here. Yes. The, the First Nations chief told the superintendent of the CPR, well, don't put your townsite there because it'll flood. They didn't listen. So. And what happened? Yeah. Like many, many, many times and probably many more times in the future. Hopefully not. We've got mitigation in place that will make it not as bad as it has been. Not without the CPR coming through here on the CPP main line. At one time, we were the biggest place in Alberta. There was some consideration that we would be the capital of the new province of Alberta. That didn't happen. Might have changed the course of history. But without the CPR here and digging around for, water that wouldn't have found natural gas. Oh, look, we have got a bonus here. So, industry sprang up. The, people in charge of the city at that time took a lot of risks. I'm pretty sure that, people of the day were going. What are you doing that for? It's not going to work. But they did it anyway. And we are here today. So, it allowed our city to become the city of industry, which was its name for a long time, along with the Gas City. So, the CPR for many, many years was the biggest employer in the city of Medicine had as well. And throughout the years, we've had, a wide variety of industry in Medicine Hat. We've had a Crown factory, mattresses, munitions. Can you tell us a little bit about, that that era of time when we were very much a manufacturing city? Well, there used to be in City Hall or in the old city all over the door, I believe, at the Cypress Club now. Okay. Big panorama. It's the manufacturing center of Western Canada. And that's a shot of, the area, basically the South River flats standing, up against the Crestwood Hill and looking to the northwest. And that was where all the industry was located. You had, there was the Preston Mills. Was there the, the, Crane Market Foundry back then, it was just the foundry. Lots of different industries. They said Mattress Factory, crayon factory, the, candy factory. We had a candy factory down there. Of course, middle to potteries, Alberta clay products, the mills were set up along that line because that was able to get their product out to, the, the rest of Canada. It was a happening place in around as it was looking yesterday, I think from something like 1908, 1909 to about 1914, the population doubled and went from about I think, just over 6000 to, close to 12,000. So, so when was there a shift? So, so there, you know, we no longer have a mattress factory or a factory. Was that, postwar pre-war type of thing? A lot of it was they had what they called it, I think in 1914, a year of adjustment. Nice way to say a recession. Medicine that didn't suffer as much as some of the other places. But then when the First World War came along, they had pretty well put the brakes on a lot of things. And technology changed in that 4 or 5 year period of, of the First World War. And, you know, products that might have been in demand once now are being made somewhere else or made cheaper somewhere else, or not being made at all. So things changed and then from there, you know, but 1920 through to, I guess, the end of the Second World War, medicine that pretty much stayed the same size. And after the Second World War, when the economy got going again, we saw more industry coming into Medicine Hat and, building houses like crazy and homes, and people wanted to come and live here and work here and, and, so it goes. Yes. Well, you mentioned, one of the indigenous leaders who was here and when in our, at our inception kind of warned us about the location, possibly, and Medicine Hat, the name itself suggests, our rich indigenous history. Can you I know that there are a number of different stories about where we got our name. Which one are you most familiar with? I've heard them both, and I'm not sure really, if I have them committed to memory. But the place where the medicine man lost his hat is, I guess, that the word surmise comes from that. And, there's the, the myth, of creation outside the council chambers that I think James Marshall put up, that, explains how we got to be here. Yes, there is, there. Yes. A beautiful mural at City Hall that, describes, what, one of the stories. It's, it's I view it as the, more, late night or it's a it's a little darker version of the story. It involves a sacrifice of some kind. So, it's an and there's even more. More than that. And then of course, we have, the Meti. Yes. That was here. Can you tell us a little bit about Saratoga Park? Saratoga Park is the area, it's kind of like the Crescent that is at the bottom of, Sheldon Hill. They, have been using that land since before any European settlers came here. Unfortunately, some people in the community did not like the fact that, there were many living there. They used derogatory terms, towards them. And yet if you talk to the people who grew up there, that community, they had their own community. They were, very tight knit. And to this day, the roots from Saratoga Park are out in our community. And there's a lot of people that probably I know I talked to one person who said that her father worked for the city, and he told his family, you never tell anybody that you are Meti because that will limit your ability to get jobs or hum what kind of jobs you can get. And I thought that. That's sad. Yeah. Yeah. Especially with many individuals, they didn't fit. What, like the indigenous people weren't very accepting at the time. And the Europeans settlers weren't very accepting at the time. So, they, they were a very, ostracized and isolated group. My uncle, actually, my uncle and, and, and their family lived in Saratoga Park right up until, my uncle passed away and, you're absolutely right. It's it's a beautiful area. Oh, yes. And, the community was very tight knit. And when I meet people from Saratoga Park, there's always that kind of fondness that they have for the area. Yeah. We are hoping if, we can, be selected by, tell a story. I've those of us here on bring back to porch, we are looking at doing an eight part series on Saratoga Park. Its history, the people, the culture and, That's, that's, there's a lot of, of, interesting stories there that that's an amazing opportunity. And there were some in the city who were, in favor of those people down there, and they they tried to make sure that nothing happened to them while they were living there. But there's a quote in, I think about 1958 or so, from a city council meeting where they were, one person was asking us, I think it was either electricity or natural gas to be extended to their property. And the debate during the debate, one of the councilors said to something to the effect is that we shouldn't be talking about expanding services. We should be talking about bringing a bulldozer in and getting rid of those people. Wow. You know. Some of those attitudes still persist to this day. I want to maybe ask you a little bit about over because you've worked in media. For a very long time. Yeah. I knew Marconi. And you've seen how attitudes have shifted. And media itself has just. Oh yeah. So can you tell us a bit about where how you got into media. Well, I suppose it probably goes back to when I was a little boy. I had a tabletop hockey set, and back then there was only six teams in the NHL and this tabletop practice that had jerseys for all six teams. So I would play with my friends and we would either be Boston and Detroit or Montreal and Toronto didn't matter. I knew all the players, so I would do the play by play. I wanted to. Play. Oh yeah, yeah, I wanted to be like Foster Hewitt and, so that that seed was there. And, when I was not in grade six, I was very fortunate to have a teacher's name was Joe Lakey in Lethbridge. And he encouraged my creative writing abilities. And he told me in class when I would read out loud, he said, you should, look at, a job on reading the news on the radio because you read so well and I. Okay, whatever. Forgot about it. Years pass, I get out of high school and I'm still like, okay, well, what am I going to do with my life? I really don't know. And, there was a new television station opening in Las Vegas at that time because I grew up in Lethbridge. So you were born here but. Grew up, and my dad was in construction, and, he went back and forth between medicine and left for, for a number of years. And finally my mom said, well, pick a place. So we happened to be in Watford. So that's where we stayed. And, one of the counselors at LCI had been in television and, she, helped me to, get in contact with them. And I had an interest in the cinematography as well. The job was being a news photographer to actually shoot film of news events and. Oh, that'll be great, I love that. So I got the job, but then there was some federal money that was supposed to come through that did not come through. And the job sort of withered on the vine and never got to go to it. And I thought, well, I'll go to school. So, Mrs. McLeod, who was the guidance counselor, gave me all of these calendars for schools, and I'm going, okay, one, and looking and I happened to have one from Fanshawe College in London, Ontario, and I'm looking at, the right hand page cinematography. And it's like, oh, yeah, I'm Henry, and I happened to look over on the left hand side. Broadcast journalism. What's what's that? And I were reading it on, news and interviewing the sports play by play. Yes. The scene. Yeah. Ding ding ding ding ding. I sent away my money and thought, okay, you know, you just pay pay your tuition and you're in. Nope. I got home from work one day. My mum says, there's this man called from, Fanshawe College on the Ontario. Wants to do an interview with you about your applications. And how old were you at this time? I would have been, 19, 19, so I, Okay. Like, just barely got in the house and, taken off my shoes and the phone rings and it's Warren Michaels from Fanshawe College in London, Ontario. And for the next 40 to 45 minutes, it quizzed me about everything under the sun, about my current events, knowledge, history, knowledge, lots of things. And I hadn't eaten yet. And I'm starting to get a little ticked. And I think maybe a little bit of attitude might have leaked through. And he says that's what I'm looking for, really. I wanted to see if there's a fire in your belly. And he says, you're in. I'll see you next month. So I went to, two year program at, Fanshawe College in London, Ontario. Got all kinds of opportunities. I was even in the Oval Office with the president of the United States. No way. Yes. They. Yeah.

Every morning at 11: 17:12

00, they have a, a news briefing. And, that morning there was there was somebody from Brazil, some politician from Brazil. So they have a photo op in the Oval Office where the president and the guest are sitting in front of the fireplace. You still see those shots today, and the media put in their names to see if they get drawn to go and maybe ask a question. And when they're in there, you just, you know, be there. So I, myself and Ed Willman, another one of my classmates, we put our names in and we got drawn. So while you are still in school. Still in school. Yep. Just a couple of dumb kids from Canada. And so when it was time, if you see on TV, when you're looking at it on TV, when you're looking at, the president who is at the podium on the left, there's a door to their left. Well, that door, that's where we went through. And there's a sharp right or sharp left turn. And that's the hallway outside the Oval Office. And as you're standing there, if you look down one hall, you can actually see that the room does bulge out. So on. And we're waiting. And I'm looking around you, a kid here from Alberta, I'm in the white House. Wow. I'm going to go in and see the president's amazing. And there was this antique dresser standing there. And I think, well, that's probably worth a lot of money. And I look underneath it, there's a mouse trap. That's why I'm in the white House, the home of the president of the United States. And he has mice. Or maybe not because they set the trap down. Yeah. So that was kind of like, okay. You know, kind of brings you back down. The people live the matter where they are. So we went in and, you know, the it was President Ford. He was just into office at that point and. Played by Chevy Chase on Saturday Night Live, for those of you. Yeah. Familiar. Yeah. And, you know, after they counted it down and then it was turn off the TV lights and exit, please, gentlemen. And we were gone. But what I remember about the Oval Office was the rug. It had the seal of the president of the United States and stars for every state. And I have never seen a blue or blue in my life than in that rug. Yeah. Wow. So it is it as fantastic as as it looks. Because sometimes when you actually go in and see something, it's like a disappointment, but sometimes, like, oh, the pictures did not do this. Oh no, they don't do it justice. Now I see that, the current occupant in the white House has, added a lot of gold and glitter to it so it doesn't look the same as it did while I was there. And everybody has has decorated it to their own tastes over the years. I guess that's their prerogative. That is where they do their work. So yes. Yeah. Yeah. So it was the, the Brazilian. It was somebody from South America. Yeah, I don't remember. Nothing contentious. Oh, no. No, it was they were throwing them softball questions. Okay. Yeah. So how do you, so you learned how to kind of ask questions or what was your what was the training like at that time? Again, Warren Michaels, he saw something in me that I didn't know existed. Maybe it was a curiosity, but he insisted that I interview him for. Oh, I got to talk to my instructor, you know, and the butterflies are there, but, he had, previously had been the, press secretary for Richard, not Richard Nixon. What was his first name? Nixon, who was the, liberal leader in Ontario? Okay. Time. Yes. And, he had gone to China and, so he wanted me to talk to him about his trip to China. So I did the preparation and whatnot, and I found that I enjoyed just talking to people. Yeah. Conversations. Yeah. And I still to this day, like talking to people. Well, you do a lot of it. So that's good that you enjoy what you're doing. So those types of questions I, I, I gather even from how you interview today, you are approaching it from a perspective of trying to draw information out of people. Do you how do you feel this style of, questioning and media has changed since you were the 19 year old student at Van Shaw College. Way more polite back then. Yeah. Today it's a blood sport and, on all sides. And to me the issue was the internet has allowed for the spread of disinformation to the point where nobody knows what to believe anymore. Right. And you have people who dig in their heels because they've got a piece of paper that says this right here, and you better believe it. And if you don't, they have to demonize you. And we can't. We've lost the ability to sit down and talk to each other. Yes, I understand your position, why you think the way you do. And to me, that's that's sad. Yeah. And I, I, I think a loss of nuance that there's a lot of gray. Very few things can be divided into heroes and villains, very few things. But we kind of try and do that now. Do you, do you feel like the change in media is so, so the internet for sure. But do you do you feel like the change in media has led to the type of politics, the divisive kind of politics we're seeing now, or vice versa? Or are they both? Do you think they're both kind of just internet driven? I think that Watergate played a big part in that. And I I've been to the Watergate Hotel on that same field trip. We we stayed in the rooms where the, the people who were bugging the Democratic. Yes. We were able to look out the windows because that was part of Warren's, he wanted you to immerse yourself in the moment so he could understand as much as you could from all sides of an issue. And, so I think the, the, the, the public lost trust in their elected officials at that point. And there were some in the media who made hay through that became celebrities drink to Kool-Aid because the I there was one thing that was drummed into me is that people, not reporters, make the news, right. The reporter is not the story. That's a very good point. Yeah. You just ask the questions, let everybody else make up their mind. You don't try to make up their minds for you. And that's why I've always resisted, when people have asked me to write editorials because my opinion doesn't matter, right? I have one opinion, and it's not the right one. Always. Yeah, well, that's a huge shift as well, where they're in some cases, a is a bit of a blurred line between what's the news and what's opinion. How have you seen that develop over the last few decades? Well, I think that, a lot of journalists, it's now show business, right? Yeah. And, that that's not right. We in the media should not be part of the story. We're just there to ask questions on behalf of the public and whether we're stars or not. It doesn't matter. And but yet, you know, it's ratings and, you know, egos and all of that kind of stuff. And. Advertise. Yeah, yeah, we need to get this show on the air, and you got to start pushing the needle higher, or you're going to be out of work. Yeah, okay. I'll be out of work then, because, my integrity is worth more than money on a contract. Hey, it's Lynette from Bring Back the Porch. This wraps up part one of our. I talk with Mayor Lindsay Clark. Stay tuned for episode two. Coming soon. I'm. been a pleasure. And I'm sure I'll see you again. Maybe on the other side of the table. I hope so, and thank you, for agreeing to be my Sadie Hawkins. Okay. Thank you. That's why I said when I got into radio, I took a vow of poverty. Oh, it's too bad you can't have a balance. Right? So, what's the funding model for media different when you started out, or was it the same, but just to a lesser extent? Well, when I came to medicine, had to work a chat in 1978, one radio station that was in there was the second radio station that had been applied for and turned down, but everybody knew that there was going to be another coming. And in 1982, in CJC 1391 on the air, I was the original sports director. And now the advertising pie, instead of being just divided between the medicine that news and chat. Now there's the third party in there. And over the next number of years, satellite television, pay television, all the other the media, the pie didn't get any bigger than that. It just got sliced smaller and smaller and smaller to the point where, you know, it just wasn't economically viable for a lot of entities to exist anymore. Well, that's, that's an interesting point. And with online advertising as well. Oh, yes. Slices of of pie to the point where we actually lost our television broadcast news broadcast. Silence. Yeah. Very recently. And, you know, huge loss for the city and that continuity of of storytelling for city. Do you when we talk about storytelling, that's a you you talk about you, you know, don't want to be the news. But storytelling is also such an important part of your job. So kind of transferring or drawing out a story or a narrative from a person. And you mentioned you were had some creative writing skills. Yes. I wrote a book. I wrote a play when I was in grade six. Yes. It was an old TV show called The Time Tunnel. I don't know if you remember it, but the premise was that the U.S. government had, a secret operation where they had developed a way to travel in time so they could, you know, alter time to their benefit. Right. And there was these two characters, Tony and Doug, I think, were their names, and they went back in time. In the first place they landed was on the Titanic. And they're they're like two days before it hits the iceberg and, you know, the ethical concerns. What would we tell them, you know, that were it was very well done. And, I like that idea. And then, of course, Star Trek came along with different, possibilities for stories. So I wrote, an episode of The Time Tunnel where, I went back in time and I met, Private John Kennedy. Okay. To warn him not to go to Dallas in 1963, but, I, I you I had that in my drawer for years and years and years, but I think in one of my movies, it finally got, Yeah. I don't remember how it turned out. How I, how I wrapped it up. But we actually put the play on in our grade six class at, Fleetwood School in Lethbridge. Oh, yeah. So you do have to use some of those skills. Oh, yeah. And and the cast, how do you balance truth in narrative? Do you know what I mean? Like, so you need a story. You need to tell a narrative, a story. But sometimes the truth is boring. Oh, the old expression. Never let the facts get in the way of a good story. Yes. Right. Yeah. Oh, my. I guess the way I've always approached it is the best way to tell a story is how would you tell this to your neighbor over in the back fence? Right. Oh, that's that was another one of the things that, was, brought to me by an instructor that we had at, Fanshawe College. His name was Jay Paul Huddleston. Jay Paul had the goatee. He was an American. He had been the news director at Los Angeles for about eight years. So he was, you know, he was he was a showman, but he always made sure that there was substance and meat in your stories. And actually, I worked for Jay Paul in Calgary for a couple of years, too. But that was his thing is, how would you tell this story to your neighbor over the back fence? And, you know, you have to simplify it and try to get rid of all the bureaucratic language and all the other stuff that comes in and just boil it down to. And what is Paul Harvey used to say? Just shucked the cob right down to the kernel. And I'm like, yeah, yeah, try to keep it as simple as you can. So in a sense you're a bit of an interpreter. Well. Without pushing the person one way or the other. Yeah. So in this current media state that we're in, what do you see as ways to kind of improve our ability to distinguish news. Just the facts ma'am. Kind of news from things that look a lot like news. But maybe are more opinion based or less fact based. Anyway, I don't know if I have the answer to that. So I think. If I did, I'd probably be a lot richer. Well, supply and demand. Right. Have you seen over time, greater thirst for salacious material? I going back to, John Kennedy and JFK or, you know, some of the other, presidents or people of that time. There were scandals, certainly, but they were. Yeah. Can you talk about that a little bit? Yeah. You you read the history and, you know, there were people who knew that, John Kennedy wasn't as, virtuous as perhaps they painted him. But there was this old boys club at the time where they just didn't talk about things like that. Never mind. It doesn't matter. Forward to today or I mean, any little rumor. Innuendo. It's it's on your phone within seconds. Yeah. And it it's it's just that's why I say you don't know what to believe anymore. Because there's just so much stuff coming at you and this. Wow. What was that? Oh, no. What did he say? Who I. The one thing that really concerns me is the fact that, I understand that, Sait used to have a journalism and broadcast journalism course, and this is a couple of years ago now. They had 24 seats. They had six students. Nobody wants to get into this business anymore. They want to go into the glitz and glamor, and they're attracted by the, you know, the stardom, I guess. And journalism is being down in the mud doing, you know, the day to day work, building relationships with people so they trust you and that then there's something that they think the public needs to know. They'll call you. And it's not like, okay, now, why is this person leaking this to me? There's already the walls go up today. But there was a day when people used to deliberately leak information to governments, you know, run up the flag, see what somebody says will disavow any knowledge of it. But maybe if it sounds like the public is in favor of it, then, you know. It's good. Yeah. Media has been used a lot over the years. In many different ways, I'm sure. So part of the way that you approach the news displays that you really respect the media's role in maintaining democracy. Oh, naturally. Absolutely. Because if we're not there to tell people what's happening, and sometimes you almost want to reach through that TV screen or the radio and grab them by the lapels and say, hey, this is important. You need to pay attention. You need to know about this. Yes. And and that balance between what what, what do people need to know? So when you're getting tips or you're getting, leaks, what analysis when you are asking yourself is this news? Yeah. Why are you telling me this? Yeah. So what's your. How did you go about that? What was your process for kind of sussing out what the news was? Just ask a lot of questions. Ask a question. And as somebody once told me, do you know, you control an interview, know you ask a question, you know, you keep control of the interview. Ask another. Ask another question. That's right. Okay. Yeah. So you just you try to find out where, you know, the truth is because sometimes it's obscured and it's hidden, and you talk to more than one person and get various sides and, you know, some issues are not always just black and white. There's a lot of gray. Yes. And, you know, then there's things like, oh, well, I didn't know that. If I had known that, that would have been germane to the discussion or, you know, this was what people were saying. But the truth is, you know, we fact check everything now and, to make sure that it actually is truthful, not just somebody's speculation or attempt to rip on the water. Yeah. And and like you said before, it comes down so much to that trust, trust in our institutions of government, but also trust in media. Yeah. So, it's it's a huge responsibility for media and not to make mistakes. You know, government makes mistakes. We all make mistakes. But there is a process in media that if you make a mistake, you print a correction. Yeah. So that how how do you apply that to other institutions. The, the idea that you take responsible for mistakes. And how important is that, do you think for, for that trust building. I think the word is integrity, right. Yeah. And you can sell a lot of things, but you can't sell your hold your integrity because without that you are nothing right. And so you protect your reputation by telling the truth and being honest and having nothing to hide. And then I think people will give you their trust. Yeah, but you have to earn it. Yeah. It's not a given. Not just because I'm in front of a TV camera. I'm, I'm an influencer now. Yes. Oh, well, you are a bit of an influencer. You have your own podcast? Yes. How how do you see, the role of podcasts in our media landscape? I think we feed, a niche, for people to have a place where they can be comfortable to come in and talk about the issues, and that's not going to be. What did you do that for? What were you thinking? There's no accusatory, no anger. It's there are ways you can ask a question and get the same answer without being, in your face with the fist closed. And. Yeah. And that's what we hope we have built here. Yeah. And it's, it's a longer form. Oh yes. Yeah. Which allows for that nuance and. We don't want that in it. Yeah. Oh you don't ever edit a new. Every little cough, every little hiccup. That burp I had about 15 minutes ago. That's, that's in of. Real. People. Yeah. I, I also think there's, you know, an opportunity with podcast. It's more like radio. It's a you can do it, listen to it passively. You can listen to it whenever, wherever, however. Yeah. And, and the advertising format for podcasts is a little different, you know, than broadcast media. Do you can you explain how that works a little? I'm still trying to figure that one up myself, but in a radio day, 6 a.m. to 6 p.m., there are program elements, there's music, and then there are stop sets that they call them. And at 20 after six, you might hear 3 or 4 advertisements and then they'll play more music. There might be a newscast at the bottom of the hour that is brought to you by Joe's pool hall, and that goes on. If you're not listening to the radio at that time. You miss it. You miss it. With us, we can put an ad in at the top of the show as we do. You know, this podcast is brought to you by Bernie Leahy, River Street Realty. We can do that for anybody. And then they can whenever anybody watches that, that will always be there. Right? You can put them in the middle of the, the broadcast. More than one. We can put them at the end. We can put sponsor logos up. You know, there are more opportunities, more vehicles for us, I think, than there are in the other media. That's that's interesting. And you can be very specific about it. However, I, I, was having a conversation with, an another, lady who has, history in journalism, and she reminded me of the importance of radio in emergencies. Oh, first. Yes. So can you, other than just the loss of the media aspect of radio, can you tell us what other purposes radio serves that maybe the average person doesn't normally think about? Well, as you mentioned, it is the first place where people go when there's an emergency and sadly, when there's nobody there to tell you what the emergency is. That concerns me. Because so much of the programing on radio stations everywhere now is, prerecorded. So the opportunity to run in, unless somebody actually knows is running okay, which buttons, you know, they, they have to be trained to know how to interrupt that program with whatever information they have. And I'm not sure that there are emergency plans in place. We used to have them back in the day, and we were the radio station used to be operated 24 hours a day, and they think the only time they weren't was maybe on Sunday night from, midnight to 6 a.m., because the engineers would have time to take things down if they had to do some work and whatever. But that was there was always somebody there to answer the. Phone. Right, to talk. The police knew that if there was a problem, they could get the person on the air to say, tell people to stay away from this area like it was immediate. It. Yeah. And, matter of fact, in 2017, when we were having the, the problems with the wildfires in that October year, not only out and Cypress County, but here in Medicine Hat, one of the people in the city's communications department called me because we were working late. And she says, I'm going to give this to you before I even put it on social media, because I know you've got the reach. And we got that story out. It was an emergency. Southwest Hill power was out and there was power lines dangling, and the trees were starting to catch fire. And we could hear the concern among the fire dispatchers like, you know, you might have to evacuate this whole block. Like, you could feel that they were worried. And we were able to tell people that this is what's going on. People didn't have to make up their own stories or listen to rumor. They could get it right there, right now. And I think that's been lost. Yeah, well, sometimes you don't find out what you've lost until. You don't know what you've got til it's gone. And, crisis happens. And. Wait a minute, where's the radio? Yeah. Yeah, yeah. You leaned on it for so many years. You took it for granted and. Yeah. So I want to ask you about another fire. Another fire? I didn't start any of them. Would you? I know, and probably you weren't even alive when the city of Medicine had experienced, Devastating fire. When was that? And and like, how did that shape our city? I think you're referring to, I think it was like 1897. Yeah. They were worried more back then about prairie fires, naturally, because there was nothing to stop it. If a prairie fire got going, there was nothing in the way water was. What are you going to get the water? There was a fire. It took out, several buildings I believe in, in the business district, which at that time would have been along the rail lines and the people, in the city, business and merchants said we need protection. This was still just a town. It wasn't even a city. And so, that was when they started to think about, the idea of fire protection. They started to, you know, put some pieces together. And, they used to, was used to be a building where City Hall is now. Not quite, but where the end of Findlay Bridges, it was a little light building that served as sort of a town office. And they kept their fire equipment in the back. They had volunteer firefighters who would come when they heard the bell. And, that was the start of our, our fire service. And, it grew slowly. And, there was I, as I recall, reading some of the old news articles that there was a fire district. And if you lived outside of that district, you were out of luck, right? You didn't contribute to the, to the cause, so to speak. And if your house started fire, well, you know, sorry. Yeah. Although the bad news is fire spreads. It does. It might get to the district. Yeah. So if it's coming from your property outside the district and my property's inside the district, I'm going to pay attention. Yeah. So the, medicine that fire, department did, fire service did a video recently about some of that history. I think it's on the City of Medicine. YouTube. And it is fascinating to think about, present day and how fortunate we are. And you talk about taking radio for granted. You know, we don't think about, like, we pay our taxes and we don't necessarily always appreciate, you know, how wonderful it is to have the knowledge that if there's a fire, we have people who are trained to come out and protect us and our city. It you, it's it's I mean, if you've had a fire in your house recently, you certainly remember. But, how did what do you think? Is important for not taking things for granted. How do we how do we be grateful for what we have? What what, strategies can we use to really be grateful? It's, it's an old expression, but count your blessings. Yeah. You know, you probably count your blessings. They outnumber any of your troubles 10 to 1. Be thankful for what you have. Yeah. Instead of always reaching for what you think you need. Yeah. Just count your blessings. And, the fire service is one of them. Yes, absolutely. We also have a very rich, military history here. Oh, yes. We actually had one of the largest prisoner of war camps. And that's where the stampede grounds. Yeah. Yeah. Well. Do you do you know much about that? I, I, we're I'm working with West Cross. Who is the fountain of knowledge? Again, that's another one of my projects that we're working on is, is military history. And Medicine Hat. It goes back to, into the, 19th century here, with the rail rebellion and, serving, a regiment. I always get the mixed up regiment battalions, like, I don't I don't mean. West will sort you. Well, he will, I told you, I told him, I said you got to help me with this. But, Yeah, there was there was, people here who, in case something happened in 18. 80. Six, something like that. There are some old pictures that allude to them camped up by Alexandra School. But, when the First World War, broke out, there were a lot of people here that were right there with their hands up in the air and said, yes, I'll, you know, they formed groups and, military history. We've talked about Private Pete Robertson, Robertson Memorial Branch, there's a park named after him, gave his life in the Battle of Passchendaele. What show? We talk with West about in one of our episodes and, Yeah, it, we have a very good military tradition here, and one that, I'm proud of. Yeah. And and one of the things that I learned through West and going through the, military Museum at the Patterson Armory, was the role they play just in helping out? Oh, well, in the floods, yes. You look at 2013 particularly, they were here. They set up a field hospital up in present heights because we weren't sure if we were going to be able to cross that river because those bridges were looking like they might be in peril. So they set a field hospital up so that people could be treated in the event that we couldn't get to our regional hospital. They were in there helping people move out and sandbag and everything. You bet. Yeah. And again, they don't have do it's people who are volunteering to, to help out because help is needed, not because of the going back to media, the celebrity status, or just those people who are quietly working in the background to make our community better. I think that is, if there's one thing that I appreciate about medicine, that it's the volunteer attitude. Yeah. When we need to, we come together and matter what you might think about this or that or whatever, when there's something that needs to be done, we get together and we get it done. And I think we will continue to do that. I think you're right. To me, it's kind of like a family where I grew up, five siblings. We could we could, say mean things to each other sometimes. But you don't say something mean about my sister. My brother and I think, medicine. That's kind of like that. Like we have our disagreements, but ultimately, we are a community that that cares about each other and wants to protect what we have. And share it. Yeah. We want to tell the stories about Medicine Hat on our podcast here. And, hopefully people will join us. I, I think that, you're you're gaining traction. I hear about you guys a lot. I know lots of counselors come on here and you help us to share our story. Very well. My mind was blown here the other day when Lynnette Schneider, our, producer, was telling me that, to the end of January, our various little vehicles, because we have the long form podcast, and then there's reels, and then there's what do they call them, the voids, something like that. There's lots of terminology I don't get there. They can take the podcast and slice it. Oh yeah. Yeah. Into various different things. And that's on like Instagram and Facebook and how on TikTok. Look at you. Like everywhere. Our work is up to the end of January has had over 1.2 million views. Oh, yeah, that's in the city of medicine. Out of 64,000 people. That's in kind of. But but can you tell if people outside of the city. Oh, yeah, they have all the demographic. We have people who are watching us in Singapore. Really? Do you know that you are speaking Mandarin Chinese right now? Through the magic of YouTube, they are able to translate our work into, I think it's 23 different languages Russian and Ukrainian and German and French. Well, hopefully I didn't accidentally say something in Mandarin. They. Yeah, I want to learn about that too. But yeah. So one last question for you. We were talking about, you deciding what's news and whether you're going to do a story on something. Is there ever a story where it was so juicy and you were really amped about all of this? It's a great story, but you couldn't quite get to the point where you could write about it. And I nothing comes to mind. So no, no, no particular scandals or. No. I, I've always made a habit of whenever, when someone tries to tell me gossip, I turn it off. Okay? It's if it's not fact, I don't want to know. I, I like that. Okay, try this one on for XYZ. Then. What is this strange guest experience that you've had in your broadcast history? Or one that stands out as, did that really happen? I remember sitting in on a seance once. What? Yeah, I used to have to do a program in Calgary when I was at Castle Radio and, I was invited to sit in because there was this group that was sure that this house was possessed. It was an old house not too far from Saint and they were going to have a seance. So I said, do you mind if I bring the recorder in? And, okay. I apologize. So they called the news. Well, about the. No, they called me. Okay. Yeah. Because I, they knew I did this program and I was open to it and went and sat and, it was interesting. I didn't really think that I felt any, spectral presence. Yeah, but we had a lot of people who, who called and said, yeah, it was fun. It was fun? Yeah. Did anybody say, what the heck were you doing? Oh, no. No no no no, they saw it. For what? It was just a, you know, hold a mirror up to something and see what's there. Yeah. Just report. Just report the facts, ma'am. Did anything ever come of that? No, no, no. Have you ever been on the ghost tour? No. Apparently we have, a ghost tour. Oh, I think, I don't I don't know if, you get an actual ghost sighting of it, but, you know, the the going through historical buildings, there's always that sense of history. I've heard that about in the Delta. Yeah. Yeah. So, that's interesting. And, and the fact that you got, you know, real positive feedback about it is, is pretty cool. Yeah. A peek into someone else's life. Yeah. Yeah. Very cool. Well it has been a delight. Is there anything else you would like to add. I forgot to add the big scoop question. I don't think so. I think we've just about covered everything. My life has been laid bare for everyone to fat. Well, you have had a very interesting life, and I disagree. I feel like we've only scratched the surface. And, you know, I think the wisdom that you have, with respect to broadcasting and, and its role in really guarding our democracy and and ensuring that the people can contribute because they have the information to contribute. I think, you know, if you, could write a book about that. Bob Wrigley, Bob Bradley and I used to joke that we should write a book someday. Yeah, he he would have more stories than I would because his, his background with the Tigers over 50 years, he told me lots of stories that are not ready for broadcast. So we had a good time. Yeah. So he you might he might have been able to answer the question. Did you ever not be able to. Oh yeah. Yeah yeah yeah yeah. He would. Yeah. Well, it's been a pleasure. And I'm sure I'll see you again. Maybe on the other side of the table. I hope so, and thank you, for agreeing to be my Sadie Hawkins. Okay. Thank you.