Promotions and art run in my family a bit I think. When I was a kid,
my mom worked part-time at
Renz Dry Cleaners in the late 60's / 70's and from there had volunteered to design the floats representing the
Aurora Shopping Centre where the store was located, for the town's annual July 1st and Santa Claus parades. Her repeatedly award winning designs drew the attention of the plaza owners who created a part-time position for her as the Centre's 1st Promotions Coordinator. Mom, or
Mabel as she was known to everyone had a skill with
art, having taught classes in our home when I was really young and later in a the tiny room inside the Aurora Community Centre. I'd attend on occasion but never really had much of a flair - except for cartooning of course!
Mom would teach
perspective I remember or is it prospective? I don't know, as I said I didn't pay very good attention at about 5 or 6 years of age to
horizons, worm views, and other terms. She'd always lose me at
birds eye view for some reason. Ha. Thinking back, my sisters attended too, often even, if dad was working or no sibling of age could babysit. Mom treated us all like regular students though and then transferred this skill of putting to paper creative plans and ideas into fruition - whether that be a painting, a float for a parade, an ad for the newspaper, or a promotion of some sort my mom just seem to have a knack. She was tough when she had to be too,
firing me her own son whom she'd hired to be Santa for the Metropolitan store, the towns largest department store then because someone said I wasn't Jolly enough! Ho! Ho! Ha! She then hired my friend.
When "
The Met" was built, the L shaped
Aurora Shopping Centre already existed as an outdoor merchants plaza. The new department store was to be built in the far corner from the existing plaza while sharing a common middle parking area which cemented the "bond" as a plaza. The
Met was like the equivalent to a box store today you could say and, likely to stifle any negative publicity surrounding them taking this prominent location and a chunk of the plaza parking,
they held an art contest on
the fence walls surrounding the construction. Youths were asked to submit a plan for their "spot" I believe and allotted a place on the fence in which to do their art where two of my sisters gained entry, and which I believe my sisters Liz, now a designer of ads for major newspapers, won or placed and I believe won some money. If I recall, Liz posted a Jesus looking skyward and Gail's design looked like a man or a hobo clown peeking into a peep hole to the construction area and both won something. Ha!
Although as reported in the old July 1971 edition of the old Era-Banner, Gail tied for 3rd and won the lofty sum of $10, Liz, who won $5 was always the best artist of us kids I think, except
maybe Craig the youngest but it would be hard to compare her full basement wall
Beatles drawings to Craigy's
Star Wars-like art, which he too won at the
Aurora Art Show with one year, and recently designed / launched a video game.
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| Mom Mabel and two sisters Gail and Liz who's artwork made it onto an art contest construction fence back in 1971. They still look the same. |
My other Sister
Gail whose design had also gained entry to the wall contest became a Publisher with Mclean Hunter Publishing ( now Rogers publishing) having risen from sales through to Editor of
Art Impressions Magazine, as well was the longtime Publisher for
Canadian Interior Design Magazine, taking it from an obscure publication to a respected and valuable ( Mcleans sold it) asset along with her now husband Pete and some other dedicated employees. The two of them and another long time employee at Mcleans then went on to take over independent ownership and publishing rights to
Art Impressions. Even my
other, other sister
Karen became involved in the creative side through her flair for photography becoming a portraits photographer.
My daughter
Brittany, with a little creative guidance from myself and
Artist Fred Joly who provided the cartoonizing mechanism that turned our " Grapes" (actually me impressioning Don Cherry) into an " Uncle Sam Wants You!-Like figure for the poster designed to "recruit" players for a tourney! I've had a lot of people old and young alike comment about the poster and it was very effective with the event filling up with entries in record time this year!
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| Daughter Brit has talent too |
Mom would go on to sell (and design her own) ads to local Newmarket, Aurora and area merchants for a number
of publications including " The Topic" and " Bradford Witness"
publications. Eventually mom caught the eye of
Peter Miller who was the owner operator of
all the
Macdonald's Restaurants in the area at the time and who created a position to hire her on full time as the
Promotions Director for all 4 of his stores! When mom's dad died Mr. Miller paid her flight home and gave her a month off with pay. Mom would later sit on the
Aurora Chamber of Commerce Board o f Directors for many years. She even named Newmarket's "
Quaker Hill Market Place" in a contest to name it which stands today - although she entered in my embarrassed dad's name and he is in the newspaper pic accepting the winning $250 cheque back then! Ha, poor dad.
Why is any of this relevant? Well we're going to help
launch a youth mural art contest July 1st open to youth entries only and it brought back all these memories of that fence surrounding Metropolitan and how
proud I'd been to go by and see
my sisters' artwork there every time I went by it and of my
Mom and how amazing she was back then to be able to use her art and make a mountain out of a molehill and a career from nothing.Oh yea sorry, same thing! Ha!
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| Meyers Costume's wall now clear of graffiti below as ordered by town with top part next to be done. A Mural Art Contest with a resulting full wall mural hopes to end repeated 'tagging" costs to the long time store owner. |
Myer's Costumes on Main's owner, whose wall is to be the mural and who tells me they've been there for
80 years as
Newmarket's oldest (family owned?)
business, remembers Mabel from over the years - and I myself remember her from riding my bike there as a kid all the way from Aurora, as back then
Myer's was the best place around for
candy not
costumes...and she'd give you a deal too, with everything from Black Cat gum, to wax lips, to
black balls and it appears she may need our help now.
The business (and home) has been
deluged with graffiti from some "kids" likely, who don't realize that they are intruding not only on an elderly woman's business, but her bread and butter too, as well as potentially her staff's and in turn their families. This, coupled with times as they are, such as town
bylaws allowing for temporary use of nearby vacant stores and parking lot type trailer sales of Halloween goods during her busiest season, makes it tough for them right now including
having to clean up all the wall graffiti as ordered by the town which her manager was able to do mostly and how long will it last tag free?.
Producing a "cool" piece on that wall will lend itself to being left at peace whilst adding enhancement to the north end of Main St...So we all win!
In order to assist this longtime local
independent business woman who's energy levels may be low but not out - and perhaps the youth and even to some town folk who may not see a need for youth having a place to show creative "art" via mural or graffiti-art-like displays - we need to nurture an idea that embraces a solution. As brazen an act as the graffiti was to this victims business, I think by
including youth via a contest that allows for a mural art event held
on the Main St locations wall, along with some music and hot dogs for sale to the public to raise funds for some worthy causes including a winner's prize, makes for a good day...and society! The winning artist can then lead the design for the final full wall mural which will become the final wall adornment with their signature!
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| This old now unused bridge has been a hangout for youths at least since I was a kid! |
Some people know that I have for some time
advocated for such a spot for youth to be able to showcase some of this special talent - mentioning the unused old bridge that youth have claimed as their own since I was a kid (and sneaking beers and cigarettes on top and under it from time to time. Sorry mom!) and later on generations got into graffiti-ing and..well some still drink probably beer or smoke on occasion at 4am there when no parent will have them I'm sure! At any rate I'd thought
this old bridge a good spot for the youth to be able to "art" up, and still do, but right now
Meyers Costumes one of Newmarket's oldest businesses and which
misses out on most any spill-over business from Main St events being so removed from the south end, needs our help!
So what happened to me you ask? Good question! But hey! I did win a contest this year which was a
Canada-wide one minute ad contest put on to depict the growing gap in Canada which I entered for
P.A.C.C and it won the group $2,000 as voted online as the best. P.A.C.C. then used the funds towards their
youth road hockey event. So Yea, maybe we have some promo smarts in this family, but alas, we still need you all to come out and
BE AN ARTIST or Donate a Prize or supplies or buy a hot dog, hamburg,
bring some music or sound equipment or be a guest dj, jammer, or man a BBQ spot to help pull this off with panache on
July 1st -
Canada Day!
Make this the stop YOUTH make on Canada Day!@
Visit the website
www.tpeproductions.com for entry or
media release for more information!
