Interviewer: Do you know where- what was on- what's on Front-Street now where it was? I'm just trying to locate it. Speaker: I- I know that the ah- the um hydro office was just down- before they moved it was just down- there was just a little store between my place and the- and the- and this- the hydro. And on the other side the ah Cherry-Press was there for a great many years ...

... let's open a ski shop. The overhead would be minimal to begin with because to being with because it wouldn't affect rent, it wouldn't affect heat and it wouldn't make much different in the hydro bill, most of the built in expenses of a business were already being met by the shoe store.

And we got a big snowstorm like that and a tree fell across the hydro line and of course we're out of power.

Interviewer: And there must have been a school, local-school and everything too? Speaker: Yes, yeah within a, a fairly easy walk. We backed on the hydro - lines and we had, kids just had to walk down to the end of the street and go through the path through the hydro - lines to public-school. So it was- yeah and, and didn 't have to cross any busy streets. It was strictly residential so it was, it was great. We were very fortunate.

... we used to do that without thinking twice about it, and I'm talking Kindergarten and on, just sort-of, "See you later! Bye! Away you go!" And off you would go for a mile. ... Up a few blocks and over a few blocks and through the hydro field and then to school.

Well you gotta look at it this way: if a terrorist attacks Canada, what are they gonna do? They're going to hit a hydro station in Niagara-Falls or are they going to hit the 'nucular' power (inc) at (inc) station in Pickering?

Interviewer: Where were you during the blackout? ... Speaker: I was camping, and my mom was at the cottage, and it 's just the cottage is on a- a pow-- it 's on a hydro - - hydro power line from Ottawa. The lights went on, off, and then they went on. So, the cottage had their power, and camping we didn 't notice it so we went back to the cottage afterwards, and by the time we got back to the city, power was restored.

Speaker: Yeah and there are examples of houses now that are off the grid like they don't Interviewer: Oh they don't draw any electricity? From the ah Speaker: Well yeah from the grid I mean they don't pay a hydro bill. Ah they'll- I believe most if not all houses are hooked up to the grid but they're not necessarily using it right?

'Cause a lot of people are more money hungry nowadays I think than it was way back then. 'Cause things are so much more expensive now-a-days too. You gotta think about- I know I never ever thought about a hydro bill or a phone bill or- or a gas bill for that matter you-know. Now you have a car you gotta have money to drive it, you-know and to maintain it and-all-that, so that's a little different.

They sort of look after- they- they go in and mark trees for a company to come in and harvest them. So if their taking hydro - poles or if they're taking pulp, it all depends which one's they want and they mark certain trees for a certain harvest and- and they transplant new trees back when they're finished in harvesting so.

Ah, there's usually a gas main. Um, which is smaller and it takes gas to most people's houses. Um, there's usually a whole smattering of Bell cables, Cogeco wires, and-things-like-that. They usually have some of that underground. They usually don't have Hydro wires but there's usually Bell cable. Um not necessarily even for like T-V or phone it'll be for powering ah, traffic lights and-things-like-that. They'll have- yeah they'll have cables for that underneath.

No I once- once I left h-- home my sister left, she went to Toronto to work and my brother worked at the- you-know the ah- not the hydro plants out of Toronto or Pickering- oh it's- what is it? Nuclear w-- thing- thing.

Interviewer: The-Ontario-Business-College. Speaker: Mm-hm. And it was on Front-Street um above the old hydro office.

I-- I'm going back to school actually in May just for- just two nights a week for two months just to get a course 'cause they want you to have this course for Toronto-Hydro, so hopefully after I get that, it'll work out. If not, I-guess I'll just keep trying. ... I'm going to school at nights, two nights a-week, so- ... Ah, just tr-- for the Hydro, so, trying to- do the Hydro thing, so-

But I'm not- I'm not going. Any place that's open and flat and no trees or hydro - lines is a place- like we've been scouting around looking for fields. And ah this winter we had enough snow we could have easily done a field.

So ah then on one Wednesday morning ah I got a- I got a- two calls in a row, one from- from the hydro ah who was ah was looking for a draftsman and ah I knew what the hydro did because I w-- at my work-time out of high-school I went down to- to the ah hydro office and worked there for a week. Used to go out on a w-- week basis.

... volunteers out to make sure cars and animals and stuff and people aren't walking around and- but I had the day off work so I just sat out on the porch and then all the hydro guys were there and I said, you-know "Do you guys want like water like you-know I'm he- home by myself. Like can I get you guys anything?"

Interviewer: And ah were your parents ah also born and raised here? Speaker: My dad was. ... My mom was ah, an army-hydro kind-of brat, like my grandpa was all over the place with the Ontario-Hydro. But my dad was born and raised here and he passed away- he was seventy-three so he was here for seventy-three years.

I wa-- hos-- I wanted to go to the hospital because I was oh I was getting ah- I was in a terrible state of mind. I needed help. ... And I was trying to walk to the hospital and I came to the fence near the hydro - station over there. ... And- and then I go- I got all confused so I cut across. There's a bush there so I went wa-- stumbling around there. Finally I came out to a road where the- the hospital is on.

C-- close within the vicinity. They had little bit of slimes of the Silver-night is over by the Tim-Hortons today where the c-- hydro - plant is.