Covering Niagara: studies in local popular culture

399 Pages·2010·8.461 MB·English

by  Joan Nicks, Barry Keith Grant

Covering Niagara
Cultural Studies Series
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Covering Niagara
Studies in Local Popular Culture
Joan Nicks and Barry Keith Grant, editors
This book has been published with the help of a grant from the Canadian Federation for
the Humanities and Social Sciences, through the Aid to Scholarly Publications Programme,
using funds provided by the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada.
We acknowledge the support of the Canada Council for the Arts for our publishing program.
We acknowledge the financial support of the Government of Canada through the Book
Publishing Industry Development Program for our publishing activities.
Library and Archives Canada Cataloguing in Publication
Covering Niagara : studies in local popular culture / Joan Nicks and Barry Keith
Grant, editors.
(Cultural studies series)
Includes bibliographical references and index.
Issued also in electronic format.
ISBN 978-1-55458-221-1
1. Popular culture—Ontario—Niagara (Regional municipality). 2. Niagara (Ont. :
Regional municipality)—History. I. Nicks, Joan, [date] II. Grant, Barry Keith, 1947–
III.Series: Cultural studies series (Waterloo, Ont.)
FC3095.N5A39 2010 971.3'38 C2010-900648-8
ISBN 978-1-55458-247-1
Electronic format.
1. Popular culture—Ontario—Niagara (Regional municipality). 2. Niagara (Ont. :
Regional municipality)—History. I. Nicks, Joan, [date] II. Grant, Barry Keith, 1947–
III. Series: Cultural studies series (Waterloo, Ont.)
FC3095.N5A39 2010a 971.3'38 C2010-900649-6
Cover art by Niagara Region artist John Sakars: panel (48" × 48") from Mosaic of Niagara
(2006; collage on wood triptych, 48" × 144"), photographed by Denis Cahill. Cover design
by David Drummond. Text design by Catharine Bonas-Taylor.
©2010 Wilfrid Laurier University Press
Waterloo, Ontario, Canada
www.wlupress.wlu.ca
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post-consumer fibre, processed chlorine free, and manufactured using biogas energy.
Printed in Canada
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in this text, and to acknowledge all such indebtedness accurately. Any errors and omis-
sions called to the publisher’s attention will be corrected in future printings.
No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted,
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right licence, visit www.accesscopyright.ca or call toll free to 1-800-893-5777.
For Kenji, student of “the beautiful game” —J.N.
To Zak and Gabi, who have taught me so much about popular culture —B.K.G.
This page intentionally left blank
CONTENTS
ix MAPS Niagara Region, Niagara Urban Areas, Niagara Wine Route
xiii FOREWORD Reflections on Everyday Life in Niagara|Geoff Pevere
xvii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
xxi INTRODUCTION
PART I PUBLIC SHOWINGS
3 Polite Athletics and Bourgeois Gaieties: Toronto Society in Late
Victorian Niagara-on-the-Lake|Phillip Gordon Mackintosh
25 A Promise Set in Stone: St. Catharines Honours a Common
Soldier|Russell Johnston and Michael Ripmeester
45 Niagara Falls Indian Village: Popular Productions of Cultural
Difference|Marian Bredin
PART II MOVIES AND MEDIA
69 Early Movie-Going in Niagara: From Itinerant Shows to Local
Institutions, 1896–1910|Paul S. Moore
93 “Hollywoodization,” Gender, and the Local Press in the 1920s: The
Case of Niagara Falls, Ontario|Jeannette Sloniowski and Joan Nicks
119 Where Is the Local in Local Radio?: The Changing Shape of Radio
Programming in St. Catharines|Laura Wiebe Taylor
vii
viii Contents
PART III FOOD AND DRINK
147 Frolics with Food: The Frugal Housewife’s Manualby “A.B. of
Grimsby”|Fiona Lucas and Mary F. Williamson
169 “A Little More Than a Drink”: Public Drinking and Popular
Entertainment in Post-Prohibition Niagara, 1927–1944|
Dan Malleck
195 Niagara’s Emerging Wine Culture: From a Countryside of
Production to Consumption| Hugh Gayler
PART IV LOCAL CONNECTIONS
215 “Kenny-ing”: Kenny Wheeler and Local Jazz|Terrance Cox
237 The Music Store as a Community Resource|Nick Baxter-Moore
263 Back to Our Roots: How Niagara Artists Centre Became Popular
Again|Roslyn Costanzo
PART V BORDERLINE MATTERS
285 Entertaining Niagara Falls: Minstrel Shows, Theatres, and Popular
Pleasures|Joan Nicks and Jeannette Sloniowski
311 Electricity from Niagara Falls: Popularization of Modern Technology
for Domestic Use|Norman Ball
337 Weaving Local Identity: The Niagara Region Tartan and the
Invention of Tradition|Greg Gillespie
353 CONTRIBUTORS
357 INDEX
NIAGARA REGION