Christmas Eve 1998 from The All Saints Sessions

All Saints Sessions

 Today I'm posting another set audio files from what I've been calling "The All Saints Sessions" which are a hand full of old audio  recordings & videos captured at All Saint Anglican in Niagara Falls during the 1990`s. The post from the sessions consisted of audio files from Carols and Lessons today is Chrsitmas Eve and There is a post coming up in the spring of Easter 1993.  I have an idea that there may be additional recordings in a box or or on a hard drive but, for now it`s  just these three.

Background (or how we got here)

Originally recorded at All Saints Anglican Church in Niagara Falls, Ontario, Canada December 24th 1998. The recordings where made with two mics run through a mixer then onto cassette. Neither the equipment nor my ability to use it was up to the enthusiasm I had for making the recording.

What had been captured was not exactly up to expectations. The cassette sat around in the hopes that something could be salvaged from it, eventually.

Somewhere around 2010 the cassette was digitized. Again with the hope that  preserved in this new format some possibility of improvement might exist. The software I had and my knowledge of how to use it proved to be of little help at that time. So, they languished on a hard drive waiting for the time when the technology & (more importantly) my ability to use it could help.

Through working with video I have gained basic familiarity with adobe Audition audio software. I still wouldn't say I have any skill with it. But, I can identify some problems, find some answers and apply the answers when I find them.

There are still problems I can  hear but cannot figure out how to address. This leaves us with something that is OK in spots and not in others. It also leaves us with something that is out in the world for people to listen to instead of sitting in a lonely folder.

The Files (or how to listen to the recording)

Links to the files are below. There is one file with the entire service & an option to download it in smaller pieces.

Unfortunately downloading the files is a bit convoluted.

Click on the File & it will open a new tab.
From the new window you can download the file from the arrow button at top right.

There is also a player on the new tab. If the click on the player and don't have a compatible app installed it will give the option to download the file or the app.



All Saints Christmas Eve 1998 - Full
All Saints Christmas Eve 1998 - Part 1
All Saints Christmas Eve 1998 - Part 2
All Saints Christmas Eve 1998 - Part 3
All Saints Christmas Eve 1998 - Part 4
All Saints Christmas Eve 1998 - Part 5
All Saints Christmas Eve 1998 - Part 6


The files are basic mp3's and should pay on most devices.

The Car Year | Part Two - Back Roads

If you haven`t seen Part 1 probably best to start there.

The Car Year Part 2 will rely pretty heavily on excerpts from the trip book mentioned earlier.

I began preparations at the$ store, where I got powdered poster paint to living up the car bit. I also got some bright orange spray paint, just in case.

After painting the car, it was off to work. Just about everyone had to work & the plan to head up in two waves. Jen & Trevor with Judy and Maggie (Trevor`s mom & her dog) around 6 & rest of us in two cars starting out around 10pm. We where going to drive up and stay at Roxy`s tonight & go into Owen Sound and set up camp tomorrow afternoon leaving lots of time to get to Kelso in the evening, unless we are having too much fun at the campground.

That was the plan.
The 1st part went fine. Jen & Trev dropped off Judy & her dog in Owen Sound & made it back to Roxy`s right around the time the rest of us left.

That`s when the adventure began for us in earnest.

Do to the condition of the car we avoided the main hwy (QEW)  & took a less strenuous for the car. We took hwy 20 to Alfreda (which I can't actually find on a modern map) & then to Clapson's Corners to avoid "Hamilton Mountain. "
*actually it's an escarpment,  but people use the phrase "on the mountain" and to my car, there was no difference between an escarpment & a mountain.

As Clapson's Corners was at the top of the "Mountain" reaching it was a milestone & a cause for celebration. The celebration took the form of orange spay paint applied to the tires and Jay christening the car "Summerfoot" because the engine was as loud as a monster truck. You can actually hear the engine ticking away on the background of the video clips.

We'll leave the tale with a celebration and pick it up next time as we head North to Guelph, to meet our 1st challenge.

The Car Year | Part One - an Introdiction

The Car Year

We have been going to summerfolk for over 20 years & the most legendary trip to summerfolk yet is referred to as "the car year".  It is a story of of fun and adventure, music and friends that inevitably involves "the monkey people". 

I'm going through old videos & photos as well as a "trip Book" (like a travel journal) & memories to tell the story. It might be one of those things  where "you had to be there"  but here goes....

We started the trip with an old, crown Victoria station wagon that had been bought 2nd hand & used as a taxi, then when it was no longer suited to that purpose it came to me.

While I had the wagon it saw little to no maintenance. It was on it's last legs for a good long while before we started. It was the type of car referred to as a beater, a junker, or a jaloppy. The type of car that you are no longer allowed to drive, but this happened in the last century when cheap cars where  still allowed on the road.

We Decorated the wagon & prepared to leave on a 200km trip in a car that could not be depended on to get across town.

Only Part of the new Paint Job.

The wagon was not likely to make it, that was the point. We thought if the car was going to die it was going to be a good story.

SPOILER: the car died & it made a good story, but the story is too long to tell in one installment, and this is only the introduction, so stay tuned.

Back to the introduction.
You've been introduced to the wagon, now it's to find out who was taking the journey & where we're journeying to.

Back Story or Where are we journeying to?  We where heading to Summerfolk, a three day folk music festival (probably could have guessed from the name)  in Owen Sound Ontario, on the shores of Georgian Bay. It's a trip we still make on the 3rd weekend in August each year. At the time some of us had been going for about 5 years, some where on their 2nd or 3rd, there where some first timers and Trevor who grew up (mostly) in Owen sound who had been going on & off since the early 80's.

Today's section is already getting long so We'll finish with pictures of the principal participant.
there's at least 4 more parts to the story, so stay tuned for the next installment.


The Cast:

Trevor & Jen

Christian

Kevin

Jay

Rox

Steve

The Car AKA Summerfoot