Tales and Time Travel

I was invited to attend the dress rehearsal for an upcoming evening of storytelling in Calgary, Alberta on a weekend visit to the home of one of my sisters. The stories were all Canadian stories by members of the Calgary chapter of TALES (The Alberta League Encouraging Storytelling). The evening opened with a First Nations Cree welcome song and welcome to the First Nations land that we are on. The first story was of a young couple who escaped slavery in Kentucky and finally arrived and settled in York (now Toronto). The stories then ranged from the Devil’s Brigade in WWII, the beginnnings for a young nurse in the VON (Victorian Order of Nurses), a following your dreams to Canada in Polish folk tale and song, and an enchanting story of the building of the Chinese railway. There were more than those stories performed for an audience of four and each fascinating for the pieces of Canadian history that is missing from the school room. And of course, my reason for being there was to see my sister’s performance.

In January of 2016, my book club read and discussed the biography of Nellie McClung by Charlotte Gray. This evening I have had the opportunity to watch Nellie McClung in action. Nellie McClung was born October 20, 1873 and died at the age of 77 on September 1, 1951. The audience was invited to time time travel to 1930 this evening to listen to a populator speechmaker of the day, Nellie McClung. For those of you who don’t know her, Nellie McClung was an activist who fought for women’s rights in the early 1900’s. She had many other focuses to her fiery speeches, but the most notable was her involvement in the Persons Case. Betty Hersberger, my sister, as Nellie McClung tells us of this case. A case when women, in the eyes of Section 24 of the British North America Act, were not persons and therefore could not be legislators at any level. Betty’s portrayal was realistic, balanced and a joy to watch. Her dress was appropriate to the day and time - hat, gloves, a bit of lace.

I am sorry that I’ll miss the full performance next Friday when all will have completed their dress with authenticity.

“My very first lessons in the art of telling stories took place in the kitchen…

my mother and three or four of her friends….told stories…with effortless 

art and technique. They were natural-born storytellers in the oral tradition.”

~ Paule Marshall