While reading Recording oral history : a guide for the humanities and social sciences by Yow, Valerie Raleig. I found a beautiful quote that truly describes how I feel, and why I gravitated towards history and more importantly oral history. "From childhood, I realized that I learned from others' stories and that I liked to tell my own." This quote sums me up to T. The culture of my family and friends is very much entrenched in the idea of storytelling. Creating an image of the past with one's words, and allowing for others to experience what has past is a skill many wish they had. The best storytellers and auditory illustrators can make their memories seem like your own, or they can make you long for the memory they are graciously sharing with you. In Cape Breton, there was a common practice that many teenagers were fortunate to experience in the 1970's and 1980's; and that was "Shooting the Drag". It was the activity of driving around the downtown area of either Sydney, Glace Bay, and I think maybe New Waterford as well? (Don't quote me on the New Waterford bit), and there would be hundreds of teenagers hanging downtown all night, most walking and some driving. Hearing stories while growing up, and even in undergrad about shooting the drag really made me wish we had something like this when I was growing up. There were even divisions in the downtown areas where people from certain schools would gather. People would also come from the nearest towns and visit; the experience that people had while shooting the drag is something I can perfectly picture in my head, the imagery was painted so well by those telling me their stories that I can see how amazing of an experience it would have been. My goal is to one day be able to tell my stories, and to create such vivid projections of memories to others. Whether that be jumping on ice clampers in the dead of night, or searching for fossils along the cliff, or simply playing "the step game" (basically spotlight but othe person who is it can't leave the front step) with my brother and our two friends in my neighbourhood.
This past weekend I had the opportunity to travel to Detroit and watch a Red Wings game. I am not a huge hockey fan but it was an opportunity that I knew I couldn't pass up on. In traveling to Detroit I was also able to experience something I had only seen the research on, and that was the impact of deindustrialization. Cape Breton was fortunate enough to have their two main industries (coal and steel) slowly wind down to a close over the span of 50 years. Our economy had the chance to change and to grow, instead of being stopped on the spot. The impact that deindustrialization had on Cape Breton is everlasting and can be seen across the Island. Having the opportunity to drive around Detroit and see the city and the ruins of what was once a prosperous place, was eye opening. It was the future that awaited Cape Breton, a future that we luckily avoided. If the coal mines and steel plant were to have closed on the spot, the island would have looked drastically different than it does today. Detroit has beautiful architecture and it is disheartening to see it in it's current state. But, I don't think I could truly understand and appreciate the impact of deindustrialization if I hadn't been there. If I hadn't seen what had happened to the city. But, it wasnt all in ruin. The downtown area was thriving, it had communal seating areas and spaces for community to thrive. It also seemed like something out of silicon valley with their endless amounts of ride sharing scooters and artsy decor. The city is coming back, maybe a lot slower, and climbing up a more difficult hill than anybody ever wanted, but you can see that people are trying. Which is the only way to combat the effects of deindustrialization.
I leave you all with a photo of the Detroit train station. A testimant to industry and its collapse.
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