"On The Road Again" Film Shoot Aug. 10 to 13, 2002

"On The Road Again" with Wayne Rostad begins its 16th season this fall. This half hour program involves the host, Wayne Rostad, traveling around the country discovering and telling stories "of ordinary Canadians with extraordinary passions and pastimes."

In June, I received a phone call from their head office in Ottawa regarding my work, Portraits of the North. After several more interviews, an appointment was made and the camera crew arrived at my door in Winnipeg. It made for a very exciting week.

Picture 1. Bill Cochrane and I. Picture 2. ‘Churchill’ and I. Picture 3. Malcolm, Aldo, Churchill & Reg Simard

Aug.10/Sat.
The road crew of On The Road Again arrived at my home in Winnipeg that morning. The ‘crew’ consisted of Malcolm, one of the producers, and Aldo who works as both sound and camera man. Aldo first filmed me drawing and then shot some of my finished drawings. I was surprised by the length of time it took to shoot a scene with only one camera man. By the time they left that night I was tired but had to admit they certainly were a pleasure to work with.

Aug.12/Mon.
Drove out to Bissett and went directly to the San Antonio Hotel for lunch. Malcolm, Aldo and Wayne Rostad (he had arrived there that morning) had just finished lunch. I was introduced to Wayne, had lunch and then we all headed back to Steve Symesko’s house. Wayne had done an interview that morning with Steve who is a local herbalist so the lights were already set up. Aldo and Malcolm worked to change the backdrop for me and from 3:00 pm. until 5:00 pm. I was interviewed by Wayne.
Afterwards we went back to the San Antonio Hotel where in his room Malcolm cooked us an excellent supper. Bill Cochrane and his wife, Dorothy, and later, ‘Churchill’ and Reg Simard, joined us. Reg had often accompanied me when I visited Hollow Water First Nation. The next day we would be filming several elders in that community.
We had a lot of fun that night. Wayne is very personable fellow who has amazing stories to tell of the people he has met on his travels. We stood together for a photograph and at 6’ 4" Wayne made me feel pretty short. We retired early because we knew much work still lay ahead of us. Aldo and Malcolm stayed up to work out the itinerary for the rest of the week.

Aug.13/Tues.
We had a quick breakfast and by 9:00 am. I interviewed Bill Cochrane who is originally from the old Peguis Reserve. Bill had in fact worked many years ago for the San Antonio Mining Company in Bissett. Afterwards we drove towards Wallace Lake to visit Churchill’s claim site. He showed us the area he has been prospecting for years and educated us on the composition of the rocks we found. We saw the milling operation in the town of Bissett which he operates with his prospector friend, Lorne Hendrickson. Lorne panned some gold right before my eyes and it sure is a sight to see.

We drove to Hollow Water First Nation (45 minutes away) to interview four other elders. First we stopped by Dora Moneyas’ house and found her brushing. We talked on her front step. Next we drove to the wharf where Frank Moneyas (brother-in-law of Dora) was waiting for us. It was a fitting place to meet Frank since he had been a fisherman for over 50 years on Lake Winnipeg. We caught him laying out his nets and I spoke with him afterwards.

The third elder on our list was James ‘Jeemus’ Cowley. James stays close to home since suffering a stroke several years ago. He welcomed us and we enjoyed stories of his life as a fisherman. Lastly we visited Roddy Raven. Roddy was expecting us and ready to entertain with his violin playing. Listening to Roddy is always a treat and today was no different. When we left that night Reg thought it a good idea to see Manigotagan Falls. It is a beautiful place he knew Malcolm and Aldo would appreciate. While there Malcolm and I discussed the past few days. He thought the entire film shoot had gone extremely well. The weather which had looked threatening at times held up and we were able to film all the elders planned in the shoot. By 8:30 pm. I had to leave in order to make it back to Winnipeg that night. It had been a thrilling experience.

Picture 6. Wayne Rostad and I