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Saturday, Feb. 4, 2006
Reader tributes to Peter Gzowski
Part 4
Peter made me proud to be a Canadian and a journalist. He touched all the bases for all of Canada. R.I.P.
Les Saul
Thetis Island, B.C.
I'm a Canadian ex-pat, currently in New Orleans, and have just heard the news about Peter Gzowski's death. Born in 1973, I can't remember a time without Peter's voice in the morning; my mother Ellen was an avid listener and the sound of his voice was the sound of home. My family was very mobile, but no matter where we were, around the country, Peter was there too. I remember painting my new apartment in Waterloo, where I left all I knew to go to University. I was lonely, until I turned on the radio. When I lived in Prince George, I stayed home to listen to his last broadcast. It may sound strange, but things were never the same after that. I emigrated to Australia in early 2000 to teach at a University, and am now on sabbatical from there in New Orleans. I'm not sure if I could have done it if it meant I would leave Morningside, and Peter, behind. I fear sometimes that I've lost my Canadian-ness in all these moves; it used to be piped in to me daily and it was so obvious to me what made us special. This raspy-grandpa voice made it so clear. I miss him. I've missed him for years. But I'll never forget him. My best thoughts and wishes to his family. Thanks for letting us have him part of our families for so long.
A big fan,
Kate Sherren
When I came to Canada in 1984 from the Britain, I found it more difficult to settle than I had at first imagined. I had left my home, family and friends and had mistakenly thought that because the language was the same the culture would be too. Through listening to Morningside I became acquainted with all things Canadian. Peter introduced me to Canada's politicians, sportsmen and women, artists and people just like me from all parts of the country. I became aware of issues that were important to Canadians and became the proud Canadian that I am today.Thank you Peter.
Linda Anderson
Burlington, Ontario
I miss the man who made me late for a hundred meetings and who caused me to buy a walkman so that I could listen and walk the dog. He awakened my interest in the North, increased my knowledge of my country and made me feel at home as I recovered from the culture shock of moving from Montreal to Vancouver. This is a great loss.
S Saunders
I searched for his column last weekend and had a premonition when I could not find it .I wish you could/would reprint his confessional column in which he regretted his smoker's career. It might save a few lives.
Dieter Weichert
There is so much that I could say about Peter Gzowski - but the bottom line is that he made me a better Canadian. He made me understand Quebec politics and made me a passionate lover of Quebec and of federalism - an accomplishment in BC. - He made me love Cape Breton fiddle playing and Inuit throat singers; he made me appreciate the hardships suffered by Saskatchewan farmers; he introduced me to hundreds of Canadian authors and musicians whom I would never have met through the regular media; he made me want to travel to the Arctic circle and for goodness sakes - he made me want to take up golf just so I could play in one of his golf tournaments for literacy so that I could met him and support one of his projects. He is the quintessential Canadian - I owe him and the CBC so much and will miss him.
Linda Robertson
North Vancouver, BC
My favourite Peter Gzowski moment was when I sat for ten minutes in a Zeller's parking lot in Halifax, with the car running, listening to the end of one of his interviews. Finally when the interview finished, I shut off the car and stepped out chuckling. Six other people around me were stepping out of their cars at the same time, and they were chuckling too. We realized at once that all of us had been listening to Morningside together and started talking about the show with one another. It was a magical moment...we were all strangers to one another and we were brought together in collective laughter by this marvelous man. His program has enriched all of our lives and he articulated to many of us a rich sense of the Canadian identity which so many pundits tell us doesn't exist. He will be sorely missed.
Michelle Daignault
I can't remember not listening to Peter Gzowski.....when my children were young , and in diapers, he made me feel as though I truly was connected to rest of the world. I felt as tho"Kierans, Camp and Lewis" were engaging with me, when they were regulars on Tuesdays....I often sat in my car listening to them, only to be late for my weekly sales meetings.........what Peter had to say , was to me, of more significance, and started my day!. I will miss him, and I am so sad, at his passing. I think all of his listeners feel as though we have lost a close friend.
Sandra Goodwin-Broske
It was with great sadness that I read of the death of Peter Gzowski this morning while scanning the Globe & Mail website from my desk in Holland. I discovered Peter in the early 90's, later than some I suppose, when my job entailed a great deal of driving through British Columbia and the Yukon. Through Peter I learned far more of my adopted country than I realized at the time, for which I will be ever grateful. As I sit here typing this I am listening to Stan Rogers sing Northwest Passage - to me a quintessential Morningside number. So, thank you Peter from this temporarily displaced Canadian. Many a tear will be shed, not just across our great country, but around the world as we learn of your own Passage. May you Rest in Peace.
David Byrne
Wassenaar, Netherlands
Of course we miss Peter and have done especially every Monday through Friday when we hear the juvenile drivel that has replaced Morningside. It would be a fitting tribute to him if this rubbish was taken off the air and we had repeats of his programmes for the next fifteen years.
Diane
Edmonton
I left Canada in 1985 to work in London, England on a two year contract but I'm still here. Listening to Peter Gzowski was one of the things my soul has been missing all these years. I've just tried explaining to a British colleague that a great Canadian has gone. Of course he laughed and joked saying something like "Are there great Canadians?" I'm used to this now and no longer rise to the bait like I once did - but it made me think that it's actually quite nice that he wasn't known widely outside of Canada - that he stuck to Canada and Canadians. I suppose I've always assumed that when I retired back to Canada, his reassuring voice would still be there. And I suppose my worry is that retirement just won't be the same without him.
Barbara Richards
Thank you for the opportunity to put a few thoughts down. It is a bitterly cold morning today, and probably befitting of our loss. For my particular memories share a feeling of the warmth (I have no better way to describe it) that greeted me each morning as the familiar and comforting jingle, and that soothing voice, marked the start of another Morningside with Peter Gzowski and the start to another new day. A fresh pot of coffee and the promise of engaging, thoughtful discussion brought my little office space together with all the other listeners across Canada. And I believe it is why the tributes that I have heard and read this morning all point generally to a man who had a great gift and sense for making us Canadians all feel connected. In a world and media seemingly being overrun by loud, boorish and increasingly ignorant personalities, the loss of a figure like Mr. Gzowski seems that more poignant. Thank you for your gift of many words, and that voice.
J. Brown
Edmonton
I listened to Mr. Gzowski for a long time on his radio show on the CBC and was greatly saddened that he left the show after so many years. More recently, I have been enjoying his column in the Globe and Mail. Canada has lost another Icon. My sympathies to his family and to Canada.
Ronald D. Whitlock
Peter Gzowski represented a Canadian identity -- a Canadian presence -- to people in all corners of this land, but to me, he also demonstrated a true passion for his boyhood town of Galt. I, too, grew up in Galt, though a generation after Gzowski, and I intimately knew all the places he wrote of: Dickson Park, the Terriers baseball team, and Main and Water streets (what generations of Galtonians -- Peter included -- knew as the Four Corners). When he wrote of his home town, his words evoked memories of a coming-of-age place, where he played hockey and ball, and went to Cubs in the church basement, and engaged in a unique game played no where else on Earth: Tibbi. Dickson Park, which was right across the road from his home, was the "centre of the universe." It was where the mighty Galt Terriers played ball. He knew the players of his day, people like Moth Miller, a gifted ballplayer whose distinctive Coke bottle eyeglasses made him unforgettable. He spoke often of Wiggie Wylie, one of the town's best all-round athletes and a contemporary of his. Galt, he once told me, was a special place, "a perfect place to be a boy." His boyhood love of sports is evidenced by his many references over the years - in print and on radio -- to Dickson Park, to dreamy boyhood hours spent playing hockey and ball, and to the fact that he exhibited a lifelong passion for recalling those coming-of-age years in Galt. Though he left Galt at age 15 in 1949, the place and its people had left its imprint on him. He returned several times over the years, visiting friends, or just passing through, or to take part in one function or another. One time he returned to help celebrate the Grand River's designation as a Canadian Heritage River. He recalled the river of his youth, where he swam and hit golf balls into the water, and admitted it had taken him years before he could finally accept that Galt had become Cambridge. Another time he visited Dickson School, the ancient stone public school he had attended as a child. There were memories all over the town, and he cherished these. When I was working as a sports editor, he once asked me to send him a copy of a story I had written on Wiggie Wylie. He wrote me back, thanking me for sending it to him, and asking me a few questions about some other local people. I corresponded with him a few times after that, and enjoyed seeing his passion for his boyhood haunts. I will remember Peter Gzowski as the quintessential voice of Canada, as someone who brought the living, breathing face of our country into our homes and cars by the people he interviewed and the places he went, but I will remember him also as a fellow Galt boy, a boy not unlike most boys who once dreamed of playing in the NHL or the major leagues. Peter Gzowski reflected us, and in so doing, helped define who we wanted to become.
David Menary
Cambridge
Were it not for Mr. Gzowski, I would never have been aware of many important Canadians that have contributed to shaping the artistic, political, and cultural landscape of this country. It was always a comfort to tune into Morningside and learn of a special person of whom I had never heard, or be provided a greater insight into the character of a prominent Canadian with whom I was already familiar. The way in which Mr. Gzowski brought people of 'stature' down to earth reminds me of the Kipling line of 'being able to talk with crowds and keep one's virtue, or walking with kings and not losing one's common touch.' Truly a man Mr. Gzowski was.
Charles LeBoutillier
Toronto
In 1984, I moved to Plattsburgh, NY, way upstate near the Canadian border. And it was there that I first heard anything substantial about the country of Canada, from the English-language channel of the CBC. Of course there was the late-night zany Allan McPhee and his vacuumland, but the show that told me all that other stuff about Canada was in the morning, and I'm pretty sure it was Peter Gzowski doing the interviewing. (It's hard to be sure of anything at such a late date, now that I've heard so much more of him in the intervening years.) Anyway, I was raised in the Bible belt (rust-belt subdivision, NE Ohio) and my parents taught me to love my neighbor, so when I started hearing the Canadian "news" I was pretty much compelled to further understanding. Besides, for sheer radio broadcasting in the public interest, there's certainly nothing like the CBC down in my home country. The upshot was that I moved to Canada in the Fall of '86, because of Peter Gzowski you could easily say, and I often do. Thanks Peter for all those hours, and thanks to the people of Canada, who paid for it.
Alan Gasser
My wife Rosalind said to me this morning, "Peter listened to everyone he talked with. He was really interested in what people had to say, rather than in pronouncing what he thought. Most men have no idea of how intoxicating that is - that someone is interested in what you think, instead of trying to tell you what to think." I admired his un-ironic approach to the regional feelings of Canadians. He demonstrated an open interest in peoples' thoughts from every part of this country which helped his listeners understand one another more humanely. He established a vocabulary and attitude of sharing and sympathy which became the language used by all the people who became a Canadian audience, both to him and to one another. Here's the challenge after Peter's death: let's practise what we learned from Peter Gzowski's conversations with us. Let's honour him by honouring ourselves and our country as he did so generously.
Ian Malcolm
Kingston, Ontario
Dear Mr. Gzowski,
I have written you hundreds of letters over the years. They were all letters of praise to tell you how much I enjoyed Morningside. I told you how much I loved your style, your humour, your insights and your chuckle. Although I knew from a journalist friend that your shows were tightly scripted, your interviews sounded anything but. To this listener they seemed spontaneous and relaxed. If you had a list of questions to ask your guest (and you must have) it was not apparent. When I started attending university in Toronto in 1981, I was 22 years old. I had always assumed that CBC radio was a station that only my father would listen to. Over the course of that year, driving to and from Glendon College, you "turned me on" to the CBC. I was lucky enough to have been brought on board the CBC bandwagon during the heyday of "the three wise men", Camp, Lewis and Kierans. Today I could tell you the entire program for CBC 1, all day, all night and all week. I recently moved to the Cayman Islands and have just received a short wave radio in the mail so I can listen to at least some of the CBC programming. I guess I feel that I know you, not as a celebrity, but just as the guy next door, someone with a knack for great conversation. I wish I had sat down and written you one of those many letters that I composed in my head. Then you would have known that you had one more great fan.
Good-bye, I'll miss you.
Steve Smith
GeorgeTown, Grand Cayman
I did not have occasion to see/hear Mr. Gzowski very much or very often when he was on the air. I know that a lot of people thought a great deal of him. My remembrance of Peter Gzowski is a television interview he did with Jann Arden fairly recently. To me he came off as someone who was very full of himself. A couple of comments he made to Ms. Arden seemed very condescending and svengali-like. I thought he was a jerk.
David McCallen, Calgary
I fell for Peter when he and Stuart McLean got the giggles on air. I was driving to work that day, and I had to pull over to the side of the road because I couldn't see through my silly tears. Peter and I were speakers at the Sechelt Festival of the Written Arts in August of '92. I took him a cricket in a little cage. He was so pleased that he ran like a kid to get a copy of the Morningside Papers volume with the cricket clip in, which he autographed for me. I was thrilled. A couple of days later, when he told the crowd of about 500 people that he was reading my book, and I could really write ... well, I was over the moon - one of the sunniest times of my life. A couple of thoughts comes to mind, as countless Canadians consider what he meant to them and to us collectively. First, he was so comfortable and taken with Canadians that he didn't measure himself by worldly standards and, in particular, had no American aspirations. He was entirely ours, and we, entirely his. Though Americans near the border heard and liked the man, for once, we didn't and don't give a damn that something huge on our radar screens means nothing to them. We were centred with Peter, and what a relief it was to be ourselves and completely at home with him. Second, I felt in him an undercurrent of sadness, a deep, warm-hearted wistfulness. I had known it in my grandad, who, like Peter, had lost his mom as a young man. Death has a way of putting a lot into perspective, and Peter always had that measure by which to judge what's important in the passing parade. That's a trick in the journalists' trade, where much of the 'ephemeritha' (as Greeks call their newspapers) seems impressive but quickly blows over, while some ephemerals speak to the heart and last through generations. Peter knew the difference and strove to share
with us the things that resonate over vast stretches of territory and time. We listen to the radio - that's all you can do with it - and here was a man on the radio who listened back. Magic!
Brenda Guild Gillespie
Vancouver, BC
A couple of years ago, I won a nation-wide high school poster contest for making a book jacket inspired by a Canadian book: in my case, The Morningside Papers by Peter Gzowski. The poster was sent off to Mr. Gzowski and he laughed and he autographed it and now I'm looking at it, plaqued on my wall. Since, I have read as much Gzowski as I can, including his Canadian Living articles and all of the Morningside Papers collections. What has happened, although the bulk of Canada's youth today weren't really part of the Gzowski generation, has sincerely affected at least one teenager.
Thom Gill, 17 years old
Gzowski fan 1997 - ...
It was my good fortune to have my "stay at home years as a mother" coincide with Peter Gzowski and "Morningside". Listening to his ecleptic interviews one soon became addicted to the programme. With his genuine and profound interest, bright mind, good humour and sensitivity he probed and engaged his guests into meaningful dialogue ,stimulating and providing the audience with a sense of excitement and wonder for the magnificent mosaic that is the fabric of Canada. As an immigrant to this country Peter introduced me to Canadian history and heritage, it's incredibly diverse geography, its peoples, traditions and and institutions in imaginative and captivating vignettes. His own love of Canada and curiosity was thoroughly infectious and as he touched the hearts and minds of Canadians from coast to coast to coast he made one feel "Proud to be Canadian" Instilling pride in one's nation is a legacy that Peter leaves and we will remember him as an extraordinary broadcaster. Thank you Peter Gzowski.
Maureen Bennett
Victoria BC
Too bad Peter couldn't stay around for all these tributes but I don't know how he would have handled all the attention. The voice is silent but oh the memories - thank you Peter and now you can soar with the eagles - we'll do our best to keep your Canada strong. ...
Annette Sercerchi
Driving through the rough and boundless beauty of this vast land with Peter was as close to an on-earth religious experience as you could get.
Art Mosher
To me, Peter Gzowski showed Canadians what it meant to be a Canadian. In a "multi-cultural" nation where diversity and regionalism are the norm rather than the exception, Peter, more than any other person, was able to bring us together, introduce us to each other, and show us what a great country Canada is in all of its different colours and flavours. We will miss him dearly.
Stephanie Graham
From my early days of travel through the various weather afflicted roads of the Maritimes, Peter Gzowski's voice, humour and intelligence carried me for kilometres; practically driving my car. Strange how Canadian I felt listening to his words and how saddened I feel for the passing of a man I had never met but most certainly knew.
George Levesque
Montreal, QC
I used to keep every radio in the house on in the morning so that as I went from room to room doing morning chores I wouldn't miss a thing. I felt good that I was keeping up on current issues while doing the menial tasks that needed to be done. He kept us informed and he kept us laughing and the housework passed quickly. He was the housewife's best friend!
Cathy Armstong
It became a habit. The first day of every week, as I sat having my paper-bagged lunch, at my little desk, in my little box, in some insignificant glass tower, I'd commune with Peter. He always had an opinion, and he always wanted to share. He'd listen to others' opinions and ruminate on things. I adored this habit. It was part of "me-time". My habit was the on-line version of Peter's weekly column. I'd access my bookmark: "The Globe and Mail: Peter_Gzowski" and off I would be ... to whatever subject interested Peter that previous Saturday. I didn't, and still don't like seeing: "We're sorry, no columns by Peter Gzowski have appeared in The Globe and Mail in the past seven days. If you would like to read the work of one of our other columnists, please click their name in the list to the right." I don't want the other columnists. I want to read what Peter had to say about whatever. I knew something was terribly wrong when I first saw that message above. Last night, as I was driving home, they interrupted their regular programming schedule. My heart always jumps up to my throat when they do that. What disaster had happened now? I cried all the way home as I heard the announcement about Peter's death. CBC 1 had interviews and clips with people who had the honour to meet and share thoughts with Peter. Snippets from Morningside brought back so many fond, wonderful memories. This morning, driving in to work to the glass tower, it continued. I smiled and agreed wholeheartedly when the announcer slipped up and said: "Our Top Sorry ..." instead of "Our top story ...". I prefer the first 'choice' of words. Our Top Sorry: the loss of more Peter G. We can't say we grieve over the loss of Peter, because he has left us with a lifetime of programs, interviews, columns, books and memories. I grieve for all the things he didn't have a chance to share with us.
Marie Shipman
Ottawa, ON
I feel a great sense of loss at the passing of Peter Gzowski. I feel cheated in that I only began listening to Morningside in 1995(when I was in my mid twenties) and was dismayed when Mr. Gzowski retired from Morningside in 1997. I remember thinking that I had uncovered this treasure of a radio show and then I realized that millions of Canadians had enjoyed Morningside while I was still going through puberty. I was often late getting somewhere because I had to finish listening to a conversation Peter was having with a politician about something of national importance or a conversation with an ordinary and interesting Canadian. This morning I heard him described as the "Canadian glue" that kept us connected. Thank you Mr. Gzowski. You will be greatly missed.
Tina Pierik
Victoria, BC.
The morning paper announced the death of Peter Gzowski, the former host of CBC Radio Morningside program. For ten years, I used to listen to Peter chat with Canadians about Canada each morning when I commuted from Delhi to Hamilton, and looked forward to each show. When I moved to England for a five year stay, I found that I missed Canada and Canadians much more than I expected. The three hour daily Morningside program was summarized in a one hour show simply called the "Best of Morningside" that aired each evening. My close friend Charlotte used to tape the one hour version and sent me a weekly audio tape of the five shows so I was able to stay current with not only the news but with the feelings of Canadians. Those tapes became quite special to me. Peter had an uncanny knack of capturing the mood of an entire country with the questions he asked of his many guests. Shortly after my return to Canada, Peter Gzowski retired, and Vicki Gabereau took over as the host of Morningside. The show was not the same for me, and I stopped being a regular listener. It was not that she was a bad presenter. She just was not Peter. Earlier this week, I had cut out two articles which described Peter's deteriorating health condition. I really wanted the pictures of him for drawing purposes. But the front page of today's Globe and Mail as well as the Toronto Sun was dominated by a large portrait of our late National Treasure. He was described in such terms as, "He WAS this country", "This country is in mourning", etc. Quotations from PM Chretien and Adrienne Clarkson were properly sad but also celebratory in nature. Gzowski was a long time smoker and all reporters stated that cancer sticks were the case of his demise. He was breathing through a tube in the end, and his death would have been anything but peaceful. But I bet that he passed on still wearing his wry smile. Today, Canada lost a real native hero. To me, it feels like I lost an old friend. So I think that for now, I will just consider the joy that this man brought to my life. I will miss him.
Wayne Swindall
Peter: There was a strength and depth in you that permeated the airways, and connected us to our beloved land. The richness of the spirit and integrity shone brightly through you. In a way you were the glue that held us together, more than any politician or even a symbolic head of the country has done. No matter where we were in the "morning", you were with us. Oh, how we will miss you! Our deep sympathy to your family and your loved ones.
Larissa, Rose and William Chodkiewicz
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