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Youth band filled a need: parent Continued from page 26 27 · Friday, March 16, 2012 OAKVILLE BEAVER · www.insideHALTON.com eric riehl / oakville beaver new book: Oakville author Tom Douglas is releasing his latest book, To Wawa with Love. Book honours author's father By David Lea OAKVILLE BEAVER STAFF He's told many veterans' stories that chronicle the horrors and brutality of war, but now an Oakville author is telling a different story about what happens after the guns fall silent. Tom Douglas, author of four best-selling books on military history, is releasing a new book this month, titled To Wawa with Love. The book discusses Douglas's own experience growing up in Wawa during the late 1940s. More than that, it outlines the struggles his father faced when he returned home after the Second World War. "I had two reasons for writing this. It's a time and place that hasn't been much written about. It was a little northern Ontario mining town. It was wild and woolly, lots of hard rock miners, there were fights on every street corner and for a kid it was like being in the middle of a wild west movie," said Douglas. Douglas said the second reason he wrote the book was because he wanted to honour his father by telling his story, including the enormity of what he eventually overcame. "Nowadays soldiers come back from war and, thank God, they are given counseling for their post-traumatic stress syndrome, they are given guidance on how to deal with their family when they come back and how to manage their finances and do everything," said Douglas. "In those days it was: one day you were shooting at the enemy and they were shooting at you. The next day it was `Get your act together and go home.'" The story begins with Sgt. Mel Douglas, a veteran of D-Day, who returned home to Sault Ste. Marie in 1946 to find his pre-war executive job at the Stackton steel mills no longer available. With a family to feed, Mel had no choice but to accept a much lower paying position with the company, as a timekeeper at the Helen Mine in the tiny northern Ontario village of Wawa. Douglas said these setbacks combined with his father's wartime experience took their toll. "He went overseas as a non-drinker. They encourage you to drink in the army. He saw his best friend blown to smithereens by a mortar on D-Day and so he drank, he drank a lot and when he came back it was exacerbated by all these slights that he got," said Douglas. "He kept saying, `Why did I do it? Why did I volunteer (to go to war)?'" Douglas described his father as a gentle and kind man except when he drank from, what Douglas calls Dr. Jekyll's test tube (rye whisky) and turned into Mr. Hyde. As the book describes incidents where Mel's behavior under the influence of alcohol frightened his children, Douglas said his younger brother Greg has refused to read it. "He said, `I want to remember the good times,'" said Douglas. "I said, `Greg I've got to tell the story the way it is.' And I'm proud of the man." Douglas said his father would eventually overcome his problems to become a pillar of the community as an officer of the court in Stackton. He would also go on to serve two terms as president of the regional court association. While the book deals with some serious issues, Douglas said he tried to keep it light by describing some of the many adventures that took place while his family lived in Wawa. Some of the stories Douglas recounts include one about how a number of residents came together to get the Douglas family's Christmas presents back after his father accidentally sent them, instead of the trash, to the dump. Other stories involved encounters with See Plenty page 28 ents of our children and they loved the music and we wanted to encourage that. So we thought, `What can we do privately as a community to make sure these kids have this opportunity?'" said Robinson. "It filled a need in the community. It gives these kids an outlet to express their music. It's a routine for them. They come every Tuesday night and they're exhausted by the end of it." The musicians also have a chance to socialize with others who share similar interests, outside of their usual school circles. The band is not officially associated with Halton Junior Jazz, but many junior jazz alumni end up with High Rendition. All students must audition, even returning musicians. There is a student fee to join and there are only 18 spots available in the band. Currently, half the members are from Oakville, and the other half comes from around Halton. There were certain challenges in forming the band. The group needed to find its direction. There were financial problems. The group also had difficulty promoting itself, for which it received support from the Oakville Arts Council. One of the biggest problems was finding rehearsal space, which meant the group bounced from schools to churches. Thanks to the opening of QE Park, that problem has been resolved. The band began rehearsing in the new community centre in January. "We're really looking forward to this QE Park idea because so many arts groups are currently segregated," Robinson said. "It will be fantastic to expose our youth to some more traditional forms of art." There are many reasons to be part of the group for students. Robinson said they like the upbeat music they play. Furthermore, the band does regular team-building activities. Among those was a trip to Washington D.C. last year to a big band festival. This month, the group traveled to Boston where the students competed in the 44th Annual High School Jazz Festival at Berklee College of Music. The event annually attracts more than 3,000 students and 200 bands and vocal ensembles from Canada and the U.S. Robinson said because the experience is so positive for the students, they remain connected to High Rendition Jazz. They are not allowed to stay on beyond high school, but if a band player is unable to attend a concert, alumni are called on to step in for the day. There are still challenges for the group, but Robinson said High Rendition Jazz has gone a long way in its existence. "It's been such a huge personal growth. Just to see it evolve from a conversation around a table to five years on to everything we've accomplished as a group is very rewarding," she said. The young musicians themselves enjoy the environment of being in the band. Among them are two Oakville Trafalgar High School sisters, Miranda (Grade 12) and Antonia (Grade 9) Alksnis, both of whom play altosax. Both played with Halton Junior Jazz before coming over to High Rendition. "It's so much fun. It's a fantastic band," said Miranda. "The feeling of being able to play surrounded by other excellent musicians is a really good feeling. It's the people in the band. The musicians and the directors are really nice people. It's a good environment." Aside from being fun, the program is also a good place to learn music. "I can learn something from everyone else since I'm one of the youngest people in the band," said Antonia. "It's a really good place to play music because everyone can help you if you're messing up. "You can keep improving on your skill too, and it's just a lot of fun." The spring concert will feature music from the band's CD. It will take place at Glen Abbey United Church, 1469 Nottinghill Gate, at 7:30 p.m. Adult tickets cost $15, or $10 for students and seniors. Tickets are available at the door, at L'Atelier Grigorian, or at info@ highrenditionjazz.ca. BigNamesSmallTheatre GOODNESS March 30 ~ ALICE IN WONDERLAND April 11 CLASSIC ALBUMS LIVE: L.A. WOMAN April 12 ~ JACOB MOON April 21 All performances are at THE OAKVILLE CENTRE FOR THE PERFORMING ARTS To order tickets call: 905-815-2021 or go to www.oakvillecentre.ca