[2021-04-04] Significant events
Family holidays such as Easter make me nostalgic for my youth. Tonight's post takes inspiration from this question in my compendium of questions: "What significant historic events took place during your elementary school days?"
You could interpret this question in two ways: significant events that occurred or significant events that you remember. For me, the latter is a much shorter list.
Politically, Pierre Elliot Trudeau was the Prime Minister of Canada throughout my elementary school years, with the exception of my final months in grade 8, after Joe Clark defeated Trudeau on May 11, 1979. Provincially, Bill Davis was the premier of Ontario during my entire time in elementary and high school. In 1973, Canada experienced the oil crisis, which sent the price of oil skyrocketing and my family converting to wood from oil for home heating. In 1975, the beaver became an official symbol of Canada. In June 1976, the CN Tower—then the tallest free-standing structure in the world—opened to the public in Toronto. One month later, in July 1976, Canada hosted the Olympic games for the first time. In June 1977, Queen Elizabeth II toured Canada as part of her Silver Jubilee celebrations. And in February 1979, Canada witnessed a total solar eclipse.
But as a simple girl from the country, I paid little mind to such lofty events, with the possible exception of the eclipse, which I feared would make me go blind.
A significant change that occurred and that I felt in elementary school was the implementation of the metric system. On January 1, 1975, product labeling using the metric system was introduced in Canada, and by September 1975, Ontario schools began to teach exclusively using the metric system. Inches became centimetres; miles became kilometres; gallons became litres; and Fahrenheit became Celsius.
As a sporty, competitive kid, I vividly remember the Canada Fitness Award Program, with its bronze, silver, gold and excellence badges. The Government of Canada launched this national program in 1970 to encourage youth from ages 7 to 18 to achieve higher levels of fitness. The original test consisted of six events: the 50-yard run, the 300-yard run, flexed arm hangs, the shuttle run, speed sit-ups, and the standing long jump. I earned as many badges as I could, always striving for the excellence level.
Canada saw many significant moments in sports during the 1970s. Many will remember Canada's defeat of the Soviet Union on September 28, 1972, to win the Summit Series on Paul Henderson's goal with 34 seconds left in the game. Canada hosted the summer Olympics in 1976, which opened on July 17 at Olympic Stadium in Montreal. In 1977, the Toronto Blue Jays became Major League Baseball's second Canadian team; they defeated the Chicago White Sox in a game played at Exhibition Stadium in Toronto on April 7, 1977. But the most memorable sporting event for me was the 1976 Grey Cup. On November 28, 1976, the Ottawa Rough Riders defeated the Saskatchewan Roughriders by a score of 23 to 20. I still remember the famous Clements-to-Gabriel touchdown pass in the dying seconds of the game, a play that would go on to be known simply as "The Catch." I watched that game with my family, and I can still recall the exuberance of that moment.
Television continued to evolve in the '70s. On January 6, 1974, Global Television became Canada's third English-language television network—behind the CBC and CTV—when it began broadcasting in southern Ontario. I don't remember when we gained access to it. Saturday Night Live, produced by Canadian Lorne Michaels and featuring fellow Canadians Paul Shaffer and Dan Aykroyd, premiered on October 11, 1975. I wouldn't start watching that show until the late '80s. On October 18, 1977, deliberations of the House of Commons were televised for the first time, making Canada the first country to broadcast the complete proceedings of its national legislature. Not surprisingly, my tastes were more age appropriate: Get Smart, I Dream of Jeannie, The Brady Bunch, Happy Days, M*A*S*H and The Waltons.
Many classic movies were released in the 1970s: Jaws in the summer of 1975; Saturday Night Fever and Star Wars, both in 1977. But the most memorable movie for me was Grease, released in 1978. Growing up in the country, I had few opportunities to see movies in theatres, but the summer that Grease was playing, my cousin—who lived in Ottawa—took me downtown to see the film. Unfortunately, by the time we got there, the lineup was around the block, and we never got in.
Music proved to be more accessible, whether via radio or albums belonging to older siblings. My oldest brother came home one night with a vinyl record of Chic's "Le Freak"; if memory serves, he had won it at a bar. I loved that disco funk sound and played the song a lot. This same brother had an eight track in his car and a cassette of Styx's Pieces of Eight album. I liked listening to that one too. But for me, the most memorable album in my house (after I outgrew Teddy Bear's Picnic and Other Animal Favorites) was K-Tel's Sound Explosion 22 Original Hits Original Stars. I bet half the country owned that album. The song that is most vivid in my memory—probably because it was the first one on the album—was "Smokin' In The Boy's Room" by Brownsville Station. What a classic. One of the most unforgettable moments in music history was the death of Elvis Presley on August 16, 1977. He was not only a celebrity I knew, but also someone my mom had seen in person, when he performed in Ottawa on April 3, 1957. His death hit home.
I hope you enjoyed my walk down memory lane. What significant or memorable moments took place during your elementary school years?
