It was shawed with rubber pads and I got some- no I didn't even have saddle bags, did I? No, I had a just a knapsack and ah I went down to Kingston and crossed over. Well, all the way down um you-see that was the early days of radio so they couldn't do too much except to say I was lost so for one night my sister was beside herself.

So, he went into my knapsack and took something out to lure me away as I were right. And um, well, I- I ran up to him and kicked him in the butt. Um, and then he- he stumbled away um gripping his like um, his- his tailbone.

Speaker: So I would run to school every day, and ah- I don't know what would make me wanna do that but I did- I remember in grade-four I ran to school everyday. Interviewer: With your knapsack on? Speaker: Well, we didn't really have knapsacks because we didn't take stuff home- Like it wasn't- our- our curriculum was not the same as what it is now.

Speaker: Yeah, now I mean Mickey's got a knapsack and he bring homework- every home every night. And he's been doing it for- probably s-- Well he's been doing it since kindergarten. Interviewer: Yeah, I- I brought a knapsack home but I didn't do- Speaker: We- Now we didn't stay at school for lunch either though.

... we were talking about what it would be like to go to Europe and the people who put on their knapsacks that they're Canadian because you just have to say- if you say, "Hi I'd like directions" you're an American 'cause we sound like Americans.

Six in the morning, this guy hops in the truck, starts it and goes. Normally, you start a car, you sit there for a minute or so. Well here we were, throwing things off the back of the truck as it was going down the street. Knapsacks, you-know, there's a sleeping bag, pulling your pants on, and then finally you hop off. (laughter)

Interviewer: Um, I think Pack-sack, if you've ever referred to your school bag as your pack-sack. Speaker: Pack-sack, yeah. Speaker 2: Oh yeah. Interviewer: I-mean that's something that like, people in Southern-Ontario wouldn't really, like- they would think (inc) Speaker: Maybe knapsack. Interviewer: Yeah, yeah.

Interviewer: Packsack is definitely a Northern-Ontario slang. Speaker: Why, what do they call it down there? Interviewer: It's back-pack. Speaker: Oh. Interviewer: Bu-- in Northern-Ontario. Speaker: I find that back-packs are bigger. I just call that like a packsack or a knap-sack. Interviewer: Yeah we- we're- we're the only people. Like Northern-Ontario is the only people, I swear to God, that call it a packsack. Speaker: Oh yeah? We called it a school-bag up until probably grade ten 'cause you use it only for school.

Interviewer: What would you call that object? Speaker: A bag? A bag-pack? Interviewer: What? Speaker: A bag-pack? Interviewer: A bag-pack? Speaker: Yeah. Interviewer: Really? Speaker: A bag-pack yeah. You don't call it? Interviewer: You wouldn't call it anything else? Speaker: A knap-s-- I-don't-know, knap-sack, I-don't-know, school-bag? Interviewer: Or packsack? Speaker: Packsack? Interviewer: Do you not call it a packsack? Speaker: No. Interviewer: Like almost everyone in Northern-Ontario calls it a packsack. Speaker: I don't call it a packsack.

Interviewer: Um just for example like, what would you call this object here? Speaker: That's a knap-sack. Interviewer: You call it a knap-sack? Speaker: Yeah, what you call it? Interviewer: Well most people in Northern-Ontario call it a pack-sack. Right? Speaker: Oh. Okay. Interviewer: Did you- did you call it a pack-sack (inc) or a knap-sack? Speaker: I think I call it a knap-sack.

Interviewer: Alright, for example, what would you call this object here? Speaker: Knapsack. Interviewer: Knapsack? Speaker: Yeah. Interviewer: Okay. Which would associate you more with an older generation then, 'cause most people in Northern-Ontario call it a packsack. Speaker: Yeah, j-- yeah. Interviewer: Whereas people in Southern-Ontario would call that backpack. Speaker: That's interesting.

Interviewer: Okay. So what about ah Northern-Ontario versus Southern Ontario? Speaker: Well, we got a course our own different languages we- you know, we t- we say- apparently we say knap-sack, they say packsack, type of thing I-don't-know. I've heard that before. You-know we- we have our own slang language here and I don't know how noticeable it is, but I remember my friends when I moved to Toronto, thought I talked weird.

And of course, cleaning out the desks right? Ah kids loved that. Cleaning out your desk, filling up a knapsack full of your stuff that you could take home and it was just- it's exciting. Beginnings are exciting but so are endings.

'Cause that was their favourite target, right? I'm not going to the financial district. And I- I was very careful because I didn't- I didn't ah- I didn't wear a Canadian flag on any- or my knapsack anything-like-that because I didn't want to look obviously out of place, right?

Interviewer: ... put your books in, what did you call that? Speaker: I'm trying to think. Oh, actually this isn't probably what you're expecting me to say but it was a gym-bag. I had a gym-bag. Interviewer: Oh really? Speaker: Yeah, I didn't have a packsack or- or a knapsack or a- I had a gym-bag. So it was a gym-bag. Interviewer: But- but you would say that a lot of people growing up did call their schoolbags packsacks? Speaker: Oh yeah, for sure. Interviewer: Which I did as well. Speaker: Yeah. Interviewer: And packsack being a- a Northern-Ontario thing.