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Saturday, Feb. 4, 2006
Reader tributes to Peter Gzowski
Part 3
When other interviewers were pursuing a confrontational style, perhaps reminiscent of the courtroom, Peter Gzowski perfected the art of asking questions in a way that helped his guests to open up. He did not avoid the difficult issues, but in a respectful way gave room for the guest to respond thoughtfully. His program was never really about himself and his ego, and for that we admired him all the more. As one who most often heard him while driving, his warmth and wisdom made him a most welcome passenger who always brought an acquaintance or two with him. These were not always friends I suppose, but with Peter's help they were always stimulating. I miss him.
Randal Johnston
I don't believe in "bad" days or "good" ones, but Thursday was a bad day. At breakfast, I picked up the paper to discover that Peter Gzowski had been admitted to hospital. I read the article, which irritated me. It sounded like an obiturary. "Give the man a break," I thought. "He's not dead yet." In our house, when I was growing up, the radio was on all the time during the day. It was an old plastic thing that would probably fetch a good price on Queen St. W. nowadays. The kind of thing any self-respecting teenager would wish her parents would trade in for something good, like an 8-track player. But inside this radio was Peter Gzowski. This Country in the Morning was for me the highlight of P.A. Days and school holidays. Here was a man - and a man who talked about politics and the arts and everything else - and this man was giving out a recipe - a recipe! - for Crunchy Granola, on the radio, which my mom and I promptly made. Better than store-bought. I was almost late for supervising an exam at school on Thursday. Bad weather made the roads slippery and traffic was dicey. I didn't think about Peter Gzowski on the drive, but if I had, I might have thought about a crummy winter twenty four years ago. After graduating from University, I had the honour of being the subject of banner headlines as one of the One Million Canadians Unemployed. Every day, I bought the Toronto Star to search the classifieds for something to throw resumes at, and of course, read Peter Gzowski's column. The only day I missed that awful winter was the day he published two readers' letters about memorable Christmases - one from a man who, with his fellow P.O.W.s, cobbled together a Christmas during WWII, and the other was my story about meeting Santa Claus. My mom sent me a photocopy and I clutched the knowledge of having been published, that scrap of hope, all winter. The column had promised a treat to the two letter-writers - it probably would have been a left over reviewer's copy of something. The treat never materialized, but the prize of that feeling of hope was better than that. It even led to the epiphany that I might write for children some day. The students who finished their exams early on Thursday decided it was okay to talk and I had to tear a strip off them. I don't think they were trying to cheat; they were just bored. But if they had been, I could have thought about Peter Gzowski's interview with John Dean.I had become a book publicist and part of my job was to arrange interviews with authors and escort them to the interviews. John Dean, of Watergate fame, was one of these. Mr. Dean talked about the support that many people had given him, suggesting that "There, but for the grace of God go I." Peter Gzowski would have none of it, and lambasted him on the air, the only interviewer that day to do so. (To Mr. Dean's credit, when I apologized for not having warned him this could happen, he brushed my apology aside and said he had it coming.) After the exam on Thursday, I had lunch. I didn't have a cheese sandwich, but if I had, I might have remembered Peter Gzowski's interview with Jacques Pepin. This time, I had been allowed to listen to the interview in the control room. I listened to the producer cautioning that Pepin's g's were harsh, and to keep him away from them. Keep him away from g's???? Pepin was talking about cooking with leftovers, and Peter Gzowski asked him to open an imaginary fridge and plan a menu. "What's in the fridge?" Pepin wanted to know.
"Oh, some cheese …"
"What kind of cheese? Gouda?"
"Sure, gouda, or let's keep it Canadian, make it cheddar."
Wow.
I have other memories of brief brushes with Peter Gzowski, every one of them good, every one of them proving again what a gift he had for people. I went into teaching and became one of the general public again, enjoying Peter Gzowski from afar through his Globe columns, being moved by his memoir about smoking, which I wish I could drip into the veins of some of my students. On Thursday, I stayed late to finish marking my exams and calculating final grades. One thing and another slowed me down so that I ended up missing my writing for children group that evening. At least the marking was done. I climbed into my car and the radio told me Peter Gzowski had died. Thursday was a bad day.
Kathryn Ellis
Toronto
Thank you for allowing me to share my memories of Peter (I don't think he would mind us calling him that) from here in Dubai, UAE. When I heard the news last night on RCI, the lump in my throat was real and genuine. It is easy for me to share my memories; it is because of Peter I failed two math classes and got lousy marks in two others while attending University in Lethbridge. Each morning I would wake up and listen to the lineup for the day and more often than not, he was able to convince me that hearing stories from Fredricton and Moose Jaw and Baffin Island was far more important than derivatives or linear algebra. Bless his heart.
Rob Peregoodoff
Dubai Men's College
Dubai, UAE
Sitting in a kitchen in Change Islands, Nfld. a few years ago with people we had only just met, someone mentioned Peter's program. Immediately a common bond joined us in a way that is hard to decribe... "Do you remember the time he talked to...." had us laughing one minute or talking more seriously the next. The funny thing is we had a similar experience on Vancouver Island a year later. People aren't indispensible? Well, some are. Radio hasn't been the same since he hung up his mike- and probably never will be.
Gerry Fitzpatrick
Toronto
He meant Canada to us and everyone we know. We need a National Day of Mourning for our Genuine Mr. Canada when we should declare him a national treasure.
Gwen and Larry Wulff
Toronto
Peter Gzowski was editor at the Toronto Star Weekly when I was Fashion Editor there. I look on those years as the best of my career, because of Peter. He was a tough, seriously demanding, very creative, loyal, and infinitely compassionate editor. He worked hard. He played hard. He was real! That's what always set him apart in anything he undertook. Through the years I have always felt privileged to be a small part of what I have always believed to be a most distinguished life.
Audrey Gostlin
Peter Gzowski, he is Canada! I came to Canada as a student in 1980. After I graduated, I returned to Japan in 1982. I left Canada when Peter started a new CBC Radio programme "Morningside". Somehow, by the time I left Canada, I was glued to CBC Radio and enjoyed every programme. To me, CBC Radio was Canada itself. Since I missed Canada, or CBC perhaps, so much, I was so glad to come back to Canada as a landed immigrant in 1986. When I heard Peter's voice on CBC Radio, I felt, "Yes! I am in Canada!" and very happy to be back. Since then, I was looking forward to listening to "Morningside" every morning. Indeed, every morning when I get up, the first thing I did was to turn on the radio and listened to "Morning Side". This programme connected the new comer, myself, to Canada and Canadian people right away and gave me a strong sense of belonging, a sense of community and a sense of being a part of this wonderful country. Even when I go back to Japan for business or pleasure for a short time, I heard Peter's voice in my mind while riding Shinkansen, subway, walking the streets in downtown Tokyo. When I heard his voice, I missed Canada so much and wanted to come home as soon as possible. In fact, "Morningside" and Peter's voice were responsible for making me miss Canada when I was in a foreign county. He was Canada itself I will miss him a great deal.
Koko Kikuchi
Toronto, Ontario
In the mid1950s, I was city editor of the Moose Jaw Times-Herald when Peter Gzowski joined the paper as a reporter. He was brash, self-confident, proud of being exempted from the Roman Catholic Index of forbidden reading. He was keen and full of life when we gathered occasionally at my apartment for a social time. He liked his drink and smoked excessively. In the newsroom, he was a pain at time, because of his self-confidence, but always a good sound reporter. It was evident to all that he would go on to great things -- and he knew it. I've always been proud to say he was one of my reporters. He was a good guy, and I am sorry he is no longer with us, but his legacy will live on.
Larry Perks
Professor Emeritus
Ryerson School of Journalism
mourningside
enchanted tones flowed
a bristled whiskered prairie dog
leaning towards the magnetic mike
became his craft intertwined
words and pauses interrogations
pierced a people suckled a nation
tuned in turned on
rendered slime sublime
yellow digits pointing high
our reflection most appealing
now laryngitis these eyes moist
whispering lads we lost our voice
01-24-02
Ted Markle
Carigan, Quebec
Following my arrival in Canada in the early 1990s I used to listen to Morningside religiously. Much of what I know of Canada I owe to Peter Gzowski and his guests. Good journey, Peter.
Arie Odinocki
Toronto
As a new Canadian Peter Gzowski was a very important person in my life. He covered all aspects of life in Canada and was so interesting to listen to. In fact once I discovered Morningside my life revolved around the program. Friends wishing to contact me weekdays between 9 and 12 had to first turn their radio to CBC and wait for the news break before phoning otherwise it was not possible to reach me. They knew to leave their radio on during the call and the moment they heard the familiar program music indicating that Peter would be back momentarily they knew it was time to quickly terminate the call-not one precious minute could be lost! I knew I was really hooked when offered a position that would require me to work mornings versus spend the time with Morningside. Naturally I did not verbalise to anyone the reason why I was not jumping at the new offer. At the second interview I noticed that the office radio was tuned to CBC which made me quite happy; however the uncomfortable thought lingered-I was not going to be able to give my undivided attention to Morningside any longer and I was going to lose touch with who the great Canadians were, and what was really happening in this country. Radio fuelled my imagination much more so than television and Peter Gzowski was a wonderful host with a great sense of what was really important to listeners. It is incredible to think of a Canada without Peter Gzowski. He will be missed.
Jean Sawyer
For me, a migratory military wife, Peter was The Heart( beat) of Canada. His special way of weaving together our Canadian tapestry showed me that a life could be stitched together out of far-flung homes and the friendships that grew out them.
Donna Niemy
Because of Morningside with Peter, I enjoyed my home visiting job with car(and radio) so much more. I probably stayed at the job more years than I should have because I couldn't imagine the day without listening that friendly voice. Morningside was often a highlight and always a source of conversation with friends and family. Did you hear when Peter talked to…..?
Anne Medlock
My heart is heavy today. Peter's radio presence over the years, starting with 'This Country in the Morning", affected the lives of countless Canadians in many ways. His warm acceptance of all people and things Canadian encouraged me often to put pen to paper. To voice an opinion or float an idea to someone who was perhaps going to submit it to all Canada for scrutiny was a scary thing to do. But Peter in his caring and thoughtful way always gave full attention to my humble submissions and often responded to me personally. I owe him a debt of gratitude for allowing me the opportunity to speak.
One last time, ---Thanks, Peter and Goodbye.
Margaret Steel
My hometown is Moose Jaw Saskatchewan. I was there at his last show. I was working nights in the Temple Gardens Mineral Spa when Colin James, Connie Caldor and Stewart McLean all came together to join Peter in this on-air party. It was like the Hollywood of CBC. I was a hostess in the dinning room/lounge of the hotel. It was the night before and everyone had been in and out of the dining room at least once. Except for Peter. Peter's show was the reason why I had fights with another employee at my office day job. We fought over the radio dial. When his show came on there were days I felt like him and I were sitting over coffee with a guest who just dropped in. I'd never seen Peter, not even a picture. So that evening when he jaunted into my dinning room I was surprised. Not by his face because that looked like his voice. But by his height! And the width of his shoulders. He had swimmer shoulders. Broad, very broad. Those shoulders were the kind that carried the stories of our country to us. He connected us from coast to coast. He turned me onto CBC. He made it my radio station, not just my parents. We owe a debt of gratitude to Peter. He is missed.
Crystal Froese
Naramata BC
Sad to hear of Peter Gzowski's death this morning. I lived and worked out west in the late 80's and his radio and CBC radio was very connecting with Canada. I can't say these so-called all-news or all-sports channels even come close to his style or radio programs of CBC. He was very much a writer and I get the feeling that's when he felt at home. It's always funny when a media star passes away all the so called friends, politicians and other celebrities get their two cents in the media outlets. When all that really matters is for the family and relatives. The story of that person to read or hear about but that's it for me. He will be missed but time moves on and one day another person will do their own contribution for that generation.
James
Peter Gzowski Reflections: As I grow old (only into middle age, however sometimes it feels so old) melancholy moments come more frequently, as parents die and family friends and even immediate friends prematurely and unexpectedly die, sometimes I think that death can bring a profound sobriety and seriousness to an age that is too often flippant, shallow and commodified. Peter Gzowski's death has of course brought terrific tributes and happy memories but also made us think so strongly about that issue which he alone perhaps made burn for a generation - the issue of what it is to be Canadian. He made us think about it from Flin Flon to Fredericton from Ottawa to Wawa, from small towns, to big towns, to disaster sites, to hockey arenas, to political forums, from the world of culture, politics and media Peter Gzowski asked questions, engaged speakers and listeners alike in a passionate dialogue about Canada. And for that we will always be eternally grateful. I remember that my father, a growly conservative curmudgeon (who wrote for the Globe for many years), had a soft spot for Gzowski because he spoke so well. (Stephen Lewis - a dreadful socialist- earned the same respect "Not only does he speak in sentences, he speaks in paragraphs!") But I'm sure that soft spot was earned because Gzowski had eclectic Canadian interests (like my dad's) form sports, to small towns, to farming, to history, to politics and writing. There's nothing like a critical father's approval for making an impression on a young mind. I guess my brother was also suitably impressed, Angus was on Morningside several times as a sports pundit years later. Gzowski's influence on me? Often in business, social or especially teaching situations I imagine myself Gzowski. I try to be that catalyst that talks, listens, cajoles, and provokes and yet I try to be inviting and relaxed. As I recall that warm gravelly voice I try to be that force that brought out such great conversations both by listening and engaging and laughing.
Nigel Smith
Toronto
I was grieving the death of my friend and U of T Zoologist Douglas Pimlott several years ago. There had been a memorial service for Doug, who was famous for calling wolves. He had taken countless tourists on wolf howls in Northern Ontario. At his memorial service, some of his colleagues formed a chorus of wolf callers. This was on tape and it became part of the very first story I ever produced on Morningside. I told Peter about Douglas, about some orphaned wolves he'd adopted. For amusement Doug would occasionally pull up a chair by their pen, and read aloud the story of "Little Red Riding Hood". Eyes twinkling, voice chuckling, Peter slipped in a question about that while interviewing a couple of Doug's colleagues. I was thrilled. And soon fighting back tears on my first day in the control room, as the taped wolf howl ended the piece. Peter hit the talkback after the guests left and said: "I wish I'd met the guy". Peter's spirit and passion for this country and its creatures meant a lot to me then as now. I have no doubt he'll finally track down Doug Pimlott, who will teach him to howl.
Marilyn Mercer
I was converted to CBC Radio in 1987 ,shortly after moving to Charlottetown PEI. Morningside quickly became an important part of my day. Wherever my husband and I moved to with his job, I had the continuity of CBC and Morningside. I was enraptured by Peter Gzowski's voice and his method of interviewing. His ability to interview all sorts of people, famous and not-so-famous, political and non-political, literary people and ordinary people. I still recall an interview with Ellie , shortly around the debut of her book. A heart- wrenching story. His coverage of the Red River flooding was amazing. Listening to his last show on Morningside was emotional for so many. He brought the people of Canada together via his interviews and comments. He was the voice of all Canadians for me. I felt closer to Canada as a country by listening to his interviews with Canadian people. He was a genius in his field. What a tremendous loss for his family, for Gillian, his friends and colleague and for all of Canada.
Pamela. Johnson
Dartmouth, NS
A sad good morning: I am happy to be among thousands who truly feel a sense of loss today. C.B.C. Radio, indeed Canada, depreciated when Morningside went off the air. He will be greatly missed. An African proverb says: A man is not dead until he is forgotten. I hope Peter reaches immortality.
Graham Ducker
Oshawa.
I was a young salesman driving from Regina into south eastern Saskatchewan,I was listening to Gzowski.(that's what I called the show). He was talking about the crisp winter mornings with the big blue sky and fresh snow on the fields around Weyburn.We were driving along the prairies,but Peter was on the radio from Toronto. His discription of the country was what I was seeing out my car window.I was the only one for miles , who was looking at it;but he knew it was there.He constantly reminded me how good this country can be.
Sandy Johnston
London, Ont.
I came to Canada in 1970. Wanting to know all I could about this country (I'm happy to say that it has become my country), I discovered CBC and, of course, Peter Gzowski. He made a major contribution to my understanding and love for Canada; just knowing he is now dead is like a hole in my 'Canadianism'.
Hattie Shea Milne
If the 20th was the century of the common man, Peter certainly supported that notion. While showing many interviews on the television last night involving "famous" Canadians like Wayne Gretsky, Kim Campbell, Jean Chretien etc., for some reason I remember best his interview on Morningside of the homeless street men whom he treated, as he treated everyone, with respect, concern and dignity. And if Barbara Frum was the denmother to us Canadians, Peter certainly was the denfather!
Sally Elliott
I am happy and relieved to have a forum to express my sadness at the death of Peter Gzowski , a great Canadian and a great human being. It took a lonely drive on Vancouver Island for Peter Gzowski to capture my heart and to win my respect and adoration for a lifetime. It took only this moment, as well, for the CBC to reap my lifelong appreciation for its national service that holds Canada together as one, linking west and east, north and south. Upon my return to Toronto, I immediately brought a radio to my office and listened to Gzowski most mornings between phone calls and meetings. I heard his eclectic array of interviews, his passionate, active and devoted fight against illiteracy, his famously long-winded but always interesting questions, his curiousity, his insights and his personal connections with all people - of fame or just normal folks like you and me. Yes, he was a special man, a man who deserves the praise and recognition by all Canadians for just being himself, and thus giving us an active sense of being a real Canadian is all about. I only wish I could have told him all this myself. Thanks for listening.
Jane Schemel
Peter showed himself while he revealed other people and events for us all, all those years on the radio and in print. He was a companion of Canadians, as well officially of Canada! Peter charmed me back to health, through many bouts with MS by showing me real life and attracting me back toward it, complete with intellect and warts! I had to get better and get back into that life! In June 2000, I was honoured to be interviewed by Peter Gzowski, on "Some of the Best Minds of our Time."( I did not and still do not consider myself that way!) What a joy to speak in the full bloom of conversation, disarmingly calm, as we cross-taught and delighted in each other's ideas and experiences from scientific insights to simple awe. The exchange just flowed between us, from the studio in Winnipeg to the studio in Toronto and back: we were somehow in the same place for 3 1/2 hours! It was like writing a long series of thoughtful letters and getting long, heartfelt, cherished replies! At the end of August, the interview was aired twice, and I was nervous then! For those 50 minutes, I listened with a feeling that I was somehow now defined, or valid as a person. And I know now that all those years, Peter was giving us ourselves, our Peter Gzowski moment! More precious than the Warhol prototype, his frank respect, humour, rasp, self-effacing, idealism all demanded honesty, and through Peter was us. For Peter we need to talk, write and read together. Thanks, Peter, thanks very much!
Love, Judy Anderson
Winnipeg
I've been mourning Peter Gzowski's absence since he left CBC's Morningside. It's as though each weekday morning there was a home into which my hearing heart could enter, always knowing I would be welcome, well informed, chided and guided. I know his print journalism training and his own high standards are what made him such a phenomenal broadcaster, but somehow, when I could only find him in print in Canadian Living or in the Globe, it lacked life. I missed the brainwork I went through while listening to him understand others' points of view. For me, growing up in a military family with a father as passionate about the breadth and depth of Canada as Peter Gzowski was, Gzowski's work reassured me that my own family's passion for Canada as a beautiful, boundless and diverse country was completely right. I never understood the media's quest to discover "who we are". We are 'a peoples' blessed with incredible nature, and abundance, and wide open spaces and peace. And because of Peter Gzowski's desire to intimately explore -- on radio, no less! -- and understand this country, we have been blessed to celebrate each other with more patience and tolerance and interest, and dare I write, with love. As a life-long Maritimer, I will always be grateful to Peter Gzowski for keeping me in touch with my parents' prairie roots.
Kelly Hennessey
Dartmouth, Nova Scotia
Thank you for your lovely coverage of our great loss; in reading the many tributes to Mr. Gzowski, I was brought to tears over and over again. As for many Canadians, Peter Gzowski was an important friend to me, although he never knew me. In the years when my daily schedule involved several hours of CBC radio each morning, I listened to, learned from, laughed with and cried with Peter and all the while grew in my love of our great country. I met Peter very briefly this past November at the first Stratford Book Fair, when he spoke so eloquently and passionately about the things that mattered most to him. It was very clear that he was tiring of the fight to live under the conditions of his health situation. Swamped by the adoring throngs, he was no doubt exhausted and wishing he were in bed; I had to express to him what a difference he had made to just one life: mine. Not that it probably mattered much to him at that moment, but at least our eyes met and our hands touched - that moment was so moving and memorable for me. Now the lesson and the challenge of his passing is to keep searching our souls, keep reaching out to and connecting with one another, and to keep sight of what is beautiful and good in our country, in our world. May he rest in peace.
Sandra Mogensen
Stratford, Ontario
As a VON nurse I spent many hours in the car. Often the patients I visited were in outlying communities of Waterloo County. Peter Gzowski became my friend and teacher. I often thought he would have been a wonderful family physician. He listened so well and asked the "right questions" - which seems to be missing in our health care system. I also was proud to share our common Polish heritage. I miss him already.
Mary Piotrowski Murray
The newspaper, wrote Hegel, has replaced the ritual of morning prayers. In May 1985, on my first Sunday as a new immigrant in Fredericton, I walked over to the corner-store and asked for the Sunday edition of the Globe and Mail, exposing my innocence to the bemused man at the counter. But on Monday, I was able to switch on to Canada's secular weekday ritual, CBC's 'Morning Side' - a three hour con-celebration with Peter Gzowski as the chief and interactive celebrant. For close to five years as homemaker and student, when I could afford the luxury of not going on the 8:00 to 5:00 treadmill called work, I was a regular and almost daily communicant at Mr. Gzowski's altar. I now regret my failure, in subsequent years, to have kept a radio at my desk at work that would have made me a daily member of his far flung congregation. But I never fully excommunicated myself, for I participated in the ritual whenever I had the opportunity, taped and listened to important interviews such as when he memorably interviewed Pierre Trudeau on the Meech Lake accord, or simply tuned to the CBC in the evening for the best of Morning Side. I listened to his Morning Side finale from Moose Jaw, on my car radio, on the winding Highway 7, while driving from Ottawa to Waterloo. A nation has been described as an 'imagined community' because, unlike in the old city states, the members of modern nations can never encounter one another personally. For fifteen years through the Morning Side, Peter Gzowski made such encounters possible. He made Canada real to his listeners in every corner of the country. He was Canada's medium and message.
Rajan Philips
Waterloo, Ont.
When I watched the TV news last night with my children, I made them quiet down and listen because this was about "someone I grew up with". Afterwards my 9 year old daughter asked me about this "friend of mine". I realized that even though Peter Gzowski had no idea who I was he was a very important part of my life. I am a 46 year old highschool librarian. When I first married at the age of 19, we had no TV and so for company I listened often to the radio. This is the beginning of my becoming a CBC fan. I'm not sure of the years, but I know that Don Herron took over Morningside for a number of years and as a faithful listener I was so disappointed when he left and someone named Peter Gzowski took his place. I believe that I even stopped tuning in for a while. My life is a sequence of holding down numerous jobs, giving birth and staying home with three children, returning to University, and again moving into the workforce. In amongst this, Peter Gzowski became my mentor. Many times I would stop my morning and just listen, but mostly I would just continue my daily routine with Peter talking in my ear the whole time. He was my entertainment, my intellectual stimulation, my educator and my inspiration; the friend who I shared my morning cup of tea with. I laughed with hysterics and was also moved to tears. I was envious of his many travels and all the people he met and spoke to, but I realize that Peter took me with him. The radio is a very personal place to be, and I thank Peter for sharing himself in the way that he did. He was a very special man.
Helmi K. Wiebe
Kitchener Ontario
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