The kind of Jazz Stanley Lake likes to perform is about the here and now, that moment in time that expresses itself through emotion. How one feels is how one sounds, so it’s no wonder then that Lake is able to bring the same characteristics of his musical performances to another art form, Improvisational story telling.

Lake came to Canada in 1975 from Cleveland, Ohio. He started playing piano at the age of five and traveled a twisting path of fate which finally led him to the trumpet, flugelhorn and cornet as the instruments of choice for his musical interests. For eighteen years he studied classical music until one day he was smitten by the allure of jazz.

“It moves me so deeply,” he explains. “Music fills my life with passion. It takes over the spirit of who we are. It’s really great.

I had always been impressed by the Beat Poets, the smoky jazz club, the cool music in the background and the poets reciting their work,” recounts Lake. “So when I was playing in the group DasTrio in the mid 90′s (with André Lafleur double bass and David Sutherland saxophones and clarinet, two wonderful musicians ) I presented the idea of some improvisational story telling. It was a blast from the start!”

Lafleur and Sutherland both pushed and encouraged Lake to try a story at each performance. “I wish  now that I  had recorded the stories,” says Lake, “since quite honestly I have forgotten so many.”

Stanley Lake: “The Receptionists”,Saturday, the 30th of April at 8pm.

Recently the Jazz trumpeter, raconteur and troubadour, has been persuaded to record a CD with his jazz quartet, “The Receptionists”. They have already done some recordings for his new CD in Sutton at the Salle Alec et Gerard Pelletier in front of a live audience in February, and some in the studio as well. “We are going to wrap up the recordings for this CD.” says Lake, “with another live session at CIDI’s Radio Village Hall in Knowlton this Saturday, the 30th of April at 8pm.”

One can expect, at the CIDI show, to experience both worlds of Lake; the musical and the story telling. When he tells his stories Lake begins with an idea and goes about the process of exploring the many different options that present themselves spontaneously, while interacting with his musicians.
 
“Hopefully the stories make sense,” says Lake. “To the audience they are often amusing and strange, full of the things of life; fate, destiny, love, death. Usually they have a strange unexpected twist.”

As opposed to doing a studio album, Lake finds it very motivating and helpful playing in front of an audience. “It should be fun for the audience as one does not often get the chance to participate in a recording.” explains Lake. “The audience members will be able to tell their friends or children -’right there, right there-that’s my hand clapping’. What a way to impress your friends or children!” “So as I say to my friends, bring your ears and get a mouthful! The stories are in English, and the music is bilingual.”

Don’t miss “Cookin’ up Some Stories” at CIDI’s Radio Village Hall with Stanley Lake and The Recptionists (Michael Hynes, keyboards, Kevin Sullivan, percussion, Claude Prud’homme guitar and Simon Esterez, bass) this Saturday, April 30th at 8 pm. Admission is $10 and $5 for Radio Communautaire Missisquoi members. For more infromation please call 450-539-9873, or go to our website at rcmmedia.org.

Maurice Singfield is an RCM volunteer.

Music is multidimensional, meaning that the human spirit takes control, expresses itself and possesses the material world for moments at a time. Brilliant moments, not so meaningful moments, and often just regular moments that become reflections of our lives frozen in time, replayed through memories and digital devices.

Radio Communautaire Missisquoi is part of this life process. It captures, presents and archives performances (musical or otherwise) presented by individuals/volunteers behind the CIDI microphone, who are willing to share a passion with RCM participants; stakeholders and listeners.

Julie Miller is one such person. Living in Ulverton, Quebec (around the Drummondville area), she drives once a week to Knowlton and records her show, The Wayfinders.

“The title of the program is taken from Canadian anthropologist Wade Davis’ book of the same name”, explains Miller.  “The book, in turn, was the transcript of the series of Massey Lectures he gave several years ago, in which he demonstrated the importance of preserving the precious cultural and linguistic diversity of the world’s peoples”. 

Resonating intuitively with Davis she designed her show around the concept of recognizing the current development of Folk/Roots music.  “I’m not a purist or an authority,” says Miller, “although I admire people who know all the intricate history of a particular genre. Say, folk music in North America.”

Miller points out, given such people “know who was doing what in the 60’s and with whom, and that they can name all of the artists’ influences going back decades”, that she chooses to do things differently.  ”I find there is now so much more cross-cultural pollination than ever.”

“What happens when a Senegalese musician arrives to live in Quebec?  When Irish musicians collaborate with Mexicans?  When an Ontario girl goes up north and finds her voice in the Yukon?  Thus, the Wayfinders, finding our way.”

“I’m a musician”, proclaims Miller.  “…a flautist.  I sing a bit.

Miller has a warm-seasoned radio presence. She began hosting a world-music program in French at CFLX community radio station in Sherbrooke a few years back, and gradually started including music from the folk/roots genre.  She speaks with confidence, knowing full well that the truth lies within her perceptions of what good music is. How can she be so sure?

“I’m a musician”, proclaims Miller.  “…a flautist.  I sing a bit.  I play the piano. The bodhran (a handheld, shallow Irish drum with a single goatskin head, played with a stick).  My main instrument at university was the saxophone, though I don’t pick it up much anymore. I’ve been a music teacher; I’ve performed in musical theatre; I’ve played everything from classical to jazz, always coming back to folk.”

Originally from Montreal, Miller found her way to the Townships and resides on a sheep farm in Ulverton, has two kids, runs a bilingual theatre program for children 8-12, does some freelance writing, and picks up contracts here and there, both musical and otherwise. 

Recently she coordinated an intergenerational music festival in the Richmond region for the Townshippers’ Association.  “I’ve been running a folk/roots coffeehouse concert series in the village where I live, called Ulverton Folk,” adds Miller.  “We’re finishing up our fourth season and there have been some interesting projects and partnerships that have come out of that.”

I couldn’t help but ask who some of her favourite artists are: “Oh my goodness.  A list?  It changes with the seasons…it is impossible to name all the wonderful Canadian singer songwriters out there, I discover new ones every season.”

Miller finally caved in: “Penny Lang is someone I have loved for about twenty years…amazing voice…I’m always excited to hear a new album from Le Vent du Nord, they just won the Juno for best roots and traditional group… Gilles Vigneault is enchanting and his songs are a source of endless delight, wonder and meaningful observations.  The McGarrigle sisters.  We are so lucky to live in Quebec, there is so much music, so many wonderful artists, all of them drawing inspiration from the culture and tensions of the province and coming out with remarkable compositions and sounds.  Younger Quebec artists I enjoy are Vincent Vallieres, Fred Pellerin, Mark Bérubé, Olivier Brousseau, Kate Morrison, Diouf, Karim Saada, Les Cowboys Fringants, Florant Vollant, Chloé Sainte-Marie…the list is actually much longer!  I love music from West Africa—Omar Pène, Salif Keita, Toumani Diabaté, Etran Finatawa, Mansa Sissokho.  The banjoist Jayme Stone is perhaps one of the most interesting Canadian musicians to listen to as he is constantly seeking new horizons for his musical collaborations while remaining rooted in folk traditions.” Phew!! Is she into it or what?

We at RCM are so lucky to have wonderful and dedicated volunteers such as Julie Miller. Without people like her we’d have nothing. Thank you.

Don’t forget, Brian Blain performs this Saturday (8 pm) April 9, at Radio Village Hall 305B Knowlton Rd, in Knowlton at CIDI’s studios. For information go to www.rcmmedia.org.

The photo is from Klaus Bremer/CIDI.
Klaus Bremer and Maurice Singfield are Radio Communautaire Missisquoi volunteers.

The first time I met Brian Blain was when I hitch-hiked with Glen Whitehead, a friend of mine, to Hamilton Ontario. “You have to meet this guy my sister knows”, said Whitehead, who knew I was trying to get ahead in the music business. “He works for an ad agency and has a lot of contacts.”

To me, Blain had it made. He drove around in a sports car, had a cool job and listened to all the latest music. He had me listen to Crosby, Stills and Nash’s debut” vinyl” album fresh-out-of-the-sleeve. Wow!

Over the years we became friends, and as I was busy trying to establish Oliver Klaus, he was advancing his career as a songwriter, performer and producer. Finally our careers merged when I invited him to join Oliver Klaus back in the mid-seventies.

Brian Blain

Blain knows how to weave a magic spell with music and words. A gifted storyteller, he writes mostly witty, gentle songs about his day-to-day life. However, some of them can be a little peppery, although his sense of humour usually remains intact.

Reviewers have praised him to the skies. They’ve said he’s “articulate,” an “astute observer of life,” he’s “a great guitarist,” and a jazz critic called his music “unpretentious and understated yet intelligent and gently intricate.”

One critic from the Detroit Metro Times threw out a barb when, pondering Blain’s music, he wondered who would want to hear “a bluesman singin’ the blues about how lousy the blues singin’ business is these days”.

Blain, however, is quick to point out that he’s “writing about what I know.” After all, he’s been in the business as a guitarist, producer and a singer-songwriter for nearly 50 years.

Following his departure from the recently downsized NorthernBlues label he was about to release a new album on a small indy label, but creative differences nipped that in the bud. The project was salvaged when Radio Communautaire Missisquoi offered Blain its resources to help finish the project. It was mastered by John Cameron, a dedicated RCM volunteer, at his Knowlton studio.

Brian Blain Grey Hat

True to form, one of the songs on the CD is about the financial woes of his former record label. The small company was slipping into the red when one of the songs they published was used in a Coca-Cola commercial. Blain tells the story in The Day Coke Saved the Blues.

The new CD, New Folk Blues, which Blain recorded with internationally renowned bassist George Koller, features nine tracks, including a song about Blain’s friend Alice Brock, of Alice’s Restaurant fame, who was prominent in the 1960s folk scene. Alice’s Restaurant, the song by Arlo Guthrie, was released in 1967 and the movie came out in 1969.

Blain is frequently in Provincetown, Mass., Brock’s hometown, because his ex-wife, Linda, lives there and his son, Joel, spends time there. (The couple’s break-up is documented in The Big Fire, on Blain’s first CD.)  Blain has visited Brock, now an artist “drawing cats on beach stones and tossing ‘em in the sand,” he writes in Another Song About Alice.

Another one of the Provincetown songs on the CD is The Old Whaler’s Confession, and that is what motivated him to ask Koller to record with him. Blain had once heard Koller “making some amazing sound effects with the bow, that sounded so much like whale cries,” introduce the song, which is about how (in the 1600s) you could “walk across their backs right to Boston” before the whaling trade took its toll on these magnificent creatures.

The new CD, New Folk Blues, recorded with internationally renowned bassist George Koller

Blain actually worked at the Sherbrooke Record in the 60s when it was owned by John Bassett. Since then, he’s worked at ad agencies and as desktop publisher and web manager, record producer and is now an established singer-songwriter in Toronto currently touring Quebec promoting his third CD, “New Folk Blues”.

Sherbrooke native Brian Blain performs at Knowlton’s Radio Village Hall, 305B Knowlton Road, for an evening concert/CD launch on Saturday, April 9 at 8pm. Admission is $10 and $5 for RCM members.

For more information visit www.brianblain.ca where you can listen to tracks from the CD and view a 20-minute video clip of Brian performing a collection of songs he’s written about the Eastern Townships at an Ontario festival event with popular Townships author Louise Penny.

Maurice and Tanya Singfield are RCM volunteers.

The choir, “Choeur Classique de l’Estrie”, has been part of the Eastern Townships cultural landscape since 1991. Its founder, Denis St-Pierre, established the choir as a high-level group of local singers. Their mission is to share the joy of singing by presenting masterpieces written by some of the world’s greatest composers. Since September 2002, Maestro François Panneton has been its director.

In December 1982 Panneton obtained a degree in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Sherbrooke. He then went on to pursue degrees in music attaining a BA and an MA in vocal performance at the University of Montreal.

During these years he studied choral conducting with Jean-François Sénart. After graduation, he attended two training courses in Europe, first at “Centre international de Formation musicale” in Nice, July 1991, and the second at the Britten-Pears School in England, with Kurt Equiluz, September 1993. Last June, he received a Masters in conducting from the University of Sherbrooke, with Nicole Paiement.

What’s striking about the “Choeur Classique de l’Estrie” is its size. With as many as 60 singers, the choir can be powerful and moving in ways that lends itself to interpreting some of the great choral, oratorio and symphonic musical works of all times. Other distinct qualities are: intonation, flexibility, musicality and precision.

Radio Communautaire Missisquoi is pleased to present this Sunday, March 27th at 2pm in its Radio Village Hall at 305B Knowlton Raod in Knowlton, a special presentation of Italian choral favourites by sixteen voices from the “Choeur Classique de l’Estrie” under the direction of maestro François Panneton. Part of the program includes Vivaldi’s Four Seasons with words arranged to it from the original poems which inspired Vivaldi to compose his celebrated symphony.

Radio Village Hall is a special venue. Its a recording studio outfitted to captured local and visiting artists for community radio and TV, in front of a live audience. People attending an RVH show pay $10 at the door to become a member and if already a member only $5.

The idea behind RVH is to promote artists by presenting them to the region and the world through an electronic hook up to the internet and through the local media. All performances are recorded and played on CIDI 99.1 FM.

“Choeur Classique de l’Estrie” under the direction of maestro François Panneton.

Today the media are leaning toward convergence. It is not unlikely to hear CBC radio advertise that their shows can now be viewed on YouTube. Audio and video are being combined more and more with the Web to produce interactive content. RCM is prepared to take on the convergence challenge with its Radio Village Hall and The Hub. Both venues will be wired for radio, TV and the Internet.

The Hub, a store front location situated at 305 Knowlton road in Knowlton, will be a space for people to visit, relax and become familiar with RCM and its community; RCM’s reception above its basement studios. It’s free and open to the public. However, on the walls (the Wall of Fame) will be 100 signs (each sign is to be hung for one year from June 1st to May 31st), featuring individuals, advertisers and sponsors. We encourage anyone interested in purchasing a sign to contact us at the number below. Each sign costs $300 and we hope to raise $30, 000 from the campaign.

The money will go toward the development of local talent and in turn build a community for the benefit of Brome County and the surrounding Eastern Townships.

RCM will start broadcasting live four hours a day in The Hub from Monday through Friday during the month of April. Its volunteer hosts will perform in front of picture windows overlooking Knowlton Road.

Don’t miss a special presentation with sixteen singers from the “Choeur Classiques de l’Estrie” under the direction of François Panneton this coming Sunday, March 27 at Radio Village Hall from 2pm to 4pm. Admission is $10 and $5 for RCM members.

For more information please call 450-242-9873 or toll free at 450-888-2098.

Maurice Singfield is an RCM volunteer.

OK, I know it’s the “Ides of March”, which thankfully is past, but the whole month has been somewhat strange so far. Good news is the clocks went ahead and the days are longer, but we lost an hour of sleep.

We’ve had several spring-like days only to be followed by yet another snowstorm and then huge ice chunks and avalanches of snow come crashing down off the roofs.

Things in general were strange. Call a company and request service in English, you get French (or vice versa). A couple of times our newspaper wasn’t delivered. My blender broke. Our cat got into a fight with a stray. Maurice went to see a client but there was nobody there because they forgot. People at the bridge club were bidding out of turn, making insufficient bids or playing the wrong card, not quite being in their right minds. A friend meant to give me a waffle-iron she no longer needed since she had bought a new one, but she mixed up the boxes, pitched the waffle-iron in the trash and gave me an old telephone instead!

We had a good laugh over that one, but isn’t it strange? Must be spring fever. And after months and months, we still can’t drink the water in WATERloo!

In light of what’s happened in Japan (not to mention the ongoing and escalating hostilities throughout the Middle-East) we really shouldn’t complain about the trifling annoyances we encounter day to day. We’re coming down to the finish-line, next week is the official start of spring and it won’t be much longer until we can be outside enjoying our decks and patios and spring flowers and gardens. This dreary month is almost over as time marches on!

Enough grousing and complaining. We always want to share some good news with you. We recently received an email from the Ukraine. Apparently, a group of people discovered our radio station thanks to live-streaming on the internet and they are quite the fan club! They listen to us at work and claim it makes their workday more pleasant and easier to get through. How nice that is to hear, makes us feel we’re doing the right thing. That’s why it’s so important for us to get feedback from you, whoever you are and wherever you may be.

On the CIDI radio front, shows continue to be produced and hosts keep showing up for duty. It would be unfair not to mention the contributions of our volunteer hosts from time to time. “Ides of March” or not, just like the mailman our hosts are at the helm speaking into the microphone rain or shine every week.

This week we’d like to thank “The Ivanator”, Yvon Grondin, for the immense contribution he has made to Radio Communautaire Missisquoi over the past couple of years. He currently produces six shows: The Ivan Hour (his own classic-rock show), The Elvis hour (Matteo Ortuso), Mostly Canadian Unplayed (Stephen Paglia), Planetarium (astrologer Marie-Christine Dean), The Penalty Box (Nate Forster) and DJ Blues (Donald Jolander). Please check CIDI’s grid online at rcmmedia.org or in the Brome County News each week for

“The Ivanator”, Yvon Grondin

Grondin is a sound engineer/producer and has his own home studio. He is a musician, singer/ songwriter and is a member of the local rock band Oliver Klaus. At the moment he is working diligently on mixing the sound tracks from Klaus’ last show at the Maison de la Culture de Waterloo recorded by John Cameron (another RCM volunteer / sound engineer) December 11, 2010.

The Sunday afternoon live concerts at Radio Village Hall have also been a regular happening at RCM, and we are happy to say that the “Band a Jacko” will finally be performing from 2-4 pm this Sunday, March 20th (having had to cancel last time). Admission is $10 and $5 for members. They play lively Latino type music, just the thing to brighten up a grey and rainy afternoon and lift your spirits.

For more information on the goings on at RCM and its community radio station CIDI 99.1 FM, go to our website or call 450-242-9873.

Tanya and Maurice Singfield are CIDI volunteers.

So many “Special Days”. This past week we had International Women’s Day as well as Shrove Tuesday (also known as Mardi Gras or pancake day), all causes for great festivities and celebrations.

Coming up next week is St. Patrick’s Day. There is Mother’s Day and Father’s Day, Black history week and the Gay Pride Parade and numerous other “days” in honour of this and that.

At CIDI we have plenty of women. Holly Bailey is a producer, a co-host of the “Stop!” show on TV and she also has her own program, “The Bobcat Sessions”. Marie-Christine Dean does the horoscope show. Shirley (aka Marian) has a program called “Showtime!” featuring old Broadway hits and show tunes. Marie and Lucie Fortin came up with many Chronicles” shows before deciding to take a break.

Then we have many women behind the scenes such as Marilyn Durrell who is always ready, willing and able to help cater the parties and often provides home-made muffins for the staff. Denise Butcher who comes in to clean but also goes out of her way, donating a door-prize for our piano competition.

Throughout history, there have been many famous women such as Catherine the Great, Marie-Antoinette, Mary Queen of Scots, Elizabeth the 1st and the 2nd, as well as Indira Ghandi, Golda Meir, Margaret Thatcher and Mother Theresa. Many actresses and rock stars. Florence Nightingale, Mme.Curie, Carrie Nation and Rosa Parks. Pocahontas. Evita, Imelda. Lucia Borgia and Mme. de Pompadour. All famous, some good, some bad and some notorious. Many others for sure.

We play many local female artists on our radio station such as Sarah Biggs and Angel Forrest and others. We have women on our board of directors.

Fine and dandy! There is nothing wrong with having a “women’s day”, they deserve recognition but so do we all. Why not have a “People Day” instead? We are all here on the same planet together, so why not cooperate for the common good?

Men or women, any age, race or creed, we are all human beings living on this earth and sharing the same space. Let’s take care of our own affairs the best way we can and help each other in need. Let’s look after our planet, we all live here together after all.

Radio Communautaire Missisquoi brings to light the efforts of anyone willing to express who they are through the services it offers. Allowing people to be who they are is our mandate. CIDI 99.1 FM is but one way RCM helps recognize our individuality as a community.

With its production and promotional experience RCM has matured as an organization and is ready to tackle the next phase of its growth; restructuring its operations to better meet the needs of the future.

RCM’s main market is made up of creative men and women looking to develop their talents and gain public exposure (technicians, musicians, hosts, producers, actors…). Artists sustain and create self-confidence through performing, and avail themselves of RCM’s services for this very reason, whether it be performing in studio or on stage, as a musician, radio & TV host, actor, technician or producer.

Christiane Lamarche, is a naturotherapist born and raised in Granby. She has currently joined the ranks of CIDI and is hosting a new show called Mangez et Maigrissez (Eat and lose weight). She’s a good example of RCM’s market.

“Over time I began noticing that I was less fit and my endurance level was low,” explains Lamarche. “…I figured I could eat whatever I pleased without taking into consideration calorie count or nutritional value of the nutrients. Over time I began noticing that I was less fit and my endurance level was low.”

It was at this point in her life that Lamarche considered a career as a naturotherapist. When she heard about community radio station CIDI she applied to have her own show.

“There is nothing complicated about eating,” says Lamarche. “One only needs to understand that when you nourish your body, you therefore nourish your health. Banish from your vocabulary that most dreaded word and term ‘diet’. It can be done. Join me on my new and wonderful adventure on CIDI’s airwaves!” You can listen to Lamarche every Saturday at 2pm on CIDI or online at rcmmedia.org. With the launch of her show RCM is celebrating nutrition month. For a personalized session, please contact her at 450-204-7643. “I am a francophone,” says Lamarche, “but it will give me great pleasure to serve you in English.” Yet another example of being who we are!

Don’t forget Le Vent des Cantons will be performing this Sunday from 2 to 4pm at RCM’s Radio Village Hall, 305B Knowlton Road in Knowlton. Admission is $10 and $5 for members. For more information please call 450-539-9873.

Tanya and Maurice Singfield are RCM volunteers.

As Alice fell down the hole into Wonderland, she had no idea what adventures awaited her. Neither did any of us know what to expect as we plunged into the CIDI radio project. “I’m late” said the rabbit, and so were we often late with paying the rent or filling out applications. The Cheshire Cat kept grinning, appearing and disappearing at will. So did some of our volunteers. “Eat me, drink me” and as a result grow bigger or smaller: we’ve had those decisions to make many a time.

At the Mad Hatter’s Tea Party, the guests just enjoyed themselves, made a mess of things and moved on to a new seat. We’ve seen that happen. The Queen of Hearts wanted to do away with everyone. Yes, certain people have said bye-bye to CIDI.
How did Alice survive, how can we?

Stephen Paglia – CIDI’s Mad Hatter

Just as she did not know what to expect in Wonderland, none of the people involved in the radio project could foresee the future. We have attracted a great many terrific, hardworking and devoted members certainly, but none of us had any professional experience when it comes to radio. However, between the lot of us we definitely have numerous skills and talents to contribute. It’s actually quite amazing when you think about it.

CIDI really is a Wonderland, full of magical moments and surprises. A whole new playground, creative and exciting and always fun!

We are learning by doing and I think that during the relatively short time we’ve been up and running we’ve done an excellent job. Producing our own (often bilingual) programs and ads, the “STOP!” show on TV, introducing the Radio Village Hall, holding fundraisers and occasional live broadcasts all adds fuel to the fire.

Our Sunday matinee concerts in RVH have proven to be popular to date so we will definitely continue to present them featuring local artists. We must apologize for the cancellation of last week’s show (due to a death in the family of one of the band members) but La Band à Jacko will certainly be back to entertain you on March 20 ($10 and $5 for RCM members) at 305B Knowlton Road. The show is from 2 to 4. Also, on March 6 we’ll be presenting Dave Hebert with his blues band, same time, same station and admission.

Let’s keep things going. We are enjoying our discoveries in the Wonderland of radio.
We welcome one and all to join us, however and whenever you can. Actually, having a sort of tea party on Sunday afternoons at the radio village hall as you enjoy the show
seems like a good idea. Music and muffins, what do you think?

Please let us know, we always want to hear from all of our readers and listeners and play the stuff you want to hear. Any comments or new ideas? Let us know. We need feedback so we can do the best job we can. Remember, this is YOUR radio station, and we’re here to serve you.

Being who we are is CIDI, lots of great shows, lots of wonderful hosts and terrific volunteers. Give us a listen, send us your comments and suggestions.

For those of you who can’t pick us up on the radio, go to our website (rcmmedia.org) and click on the live-streaming button. If you missed a show you can listen to it on the CIDI player or go to the show/host pages and listen to past programs.

Tanya Singfield is a Radio Communautaire Missisquoi volunteer. Tel: 450-242-9873.

Patron Louise Penny, internationally acclaimed Townships writer, and her husband Michael Whitehead, offered their encouragement and financial support for the first prize winner. The Townshippers’ Cultural & Research Foundation provided a grant to help organize this Competition.

Radio Communautaire Missisquoi (RCM) has just announced the winners of its Radio Drama Writing Awards 2010. The distinguished panel of judges, Alex Paterson, Frances Gallagher and Jefferson Lewis met recently to select the winners.

Alex Paterson, OC, OQ, QC, Ad.E; author of “My Life at the Bar and Beyond”, was until recently, Chancellor of Bishops University, and is an Emeritus Governor of McGill; he has acted at the Centaur Theatre, he has been an active supporter of Knowlton’s community theatre, a patron of Theatre Lac Brome, and he has contributed his leadership and time to a wide range of community, educational, and public service projects.

Frances Gallagher; began her film career at Potterton Productions in Montreal doing continuity, film and sound editing, script writing and production. She went on to produce TV commercials, shorts and documentaries, and established the film production company 3 Themes Inc.; she then devoted herself fulltime to writing. Gallagher has been a script reader for the National Film Board and Telefilm among others; and she has given writing workshops at Bishop’s Knowlton campus, and for the Quebec Writers Federation.

Jefferson Lewis began as a radio writer, and has since written (and occasionally directed) more than 60 screenplays in both French and English, from documentaries to feature films and everything in between. He works as a script consultant and workshop leader across North America and Europe.

These judges reached a unanimous decision that the prizes should be awarded as follows:

Patron Louise Penny thanked all the entrants for deciding to enter this new Competition and for the commitment and effort that they had dedicated to writing a new play. She went on to congratulate the winners.

“It’s thrilling to have radio plays about the Townships being written and produced. And such a high calibre! As someone who also writes about the Townships, I know what a rich canvas it is. And now we’re discovering, thanks to CIDI, ever more artists, ever more writers, ever more voices – and more stories to tell about a place we cherish,” she said.

David Grenville, the man behind the RCM Radio Drama Contest

Radio Communautaire Missisquoi plans to launch Radio Drama Writing Awards 2011 next summer at WordFest in Knowlton. Its goal is to promote new radio plays about some aspect of life in the Eastern Townships of Quebec, past or present, and to increase awareness of the possibilities and scope of radio in the field of drama.

The Chawkers Foundation provided the enabling grant to launch the new program “Townships Radio Theatre” and Sunshine Theatre Productions will mount a professional production of the winning radio play from the competition to be aired on CIDI soon.

Article by Doug Hooper, Photo Kate Wisdom.

Radio Communautaire Missisquoi is having too much fun! Last summer we initiated the first annual RCM Radio Drama Writing Awards competition and today are pleased to announce the winners of the 2010 contest.

The distinguished panel of judges for the competition – Alex Paterson, Frances Gallagher and Jefferson Lewis – have completed their review of the entries. They met recently to select the winners and reached a unanimous decision that the prizes should be awarded as follows:

It’s hard to explain the joy one gets out of developing and producing an event whereby people are honoured and supported for their creative works. RCM’s Radio Drama Writing Awards is the brainchild of David Grenville; resident of the Town of Brome Lake. His interest in theatre and community radio along with his many friends, has enabled him to develop a competition supported by the likes of Louise Penny (Patron), the Chawkers Foundation out of Toronto and the Townshippers’ Cultural & Research Foundation.
“I’m pleased and relieved”, says Grenville, “that the competition idea has gone off better than I had feared it would.  Indeed, as a first time effort I think we can judge it a success, and a model for future competitions that we can adjust as we go along.”

Grenville pitched the idea to Kate Wisdom (Chairperson of RCM’s board of directors) and me last year. “…she (Wisdom)”, adds Grenville, “has worked closely with me on shaping and organizing the competition.”

Wisdom is a huge contributor to the development of the arts in the Townships and has been working with the Townshippers Association for over thirteen years organizing Townshippers Days and sitting on committees and boards the likes of RCM and the CLD of Brome Missisquoi.

We are happy to have Wisdom as our Chair and supporter of RCM’s community-building aspirations. When asked about our reception desk moving upstairs to street level 305 Knowlton Road, she said: “… I think it is a great project…lots of social economy potential. It would be like having our own version of a legion back in Knowlton for weekend stuff (the Community centre is closed on Friday evenings to Monday am). Could get real busy!!!

The RCM Radio Drama Writing Awards gives us yet another piece to the community-building and arts-development puzzle. The puzzle is no more than a plan, a method of sorts which will lead to the realization of a dream; a social-economy non-profit called Radio Communautaire Missisquoi.
 
“I’ve always envisaged that RCM/CIDI needs to have a small number of flagship programs”, explains Grenville.  “I think the musical competitions (RCM’s Stop! TV show), both band and piano are already emerging as one such program.  I believe that Townships Radio Theatre can be another, now that the best of the local theatre talent is involved with RCM.  Promoting these shows will be crucial to their success.”

La bande à Jaco

Let’s not forget Radio Village Hall at 305B Knowlton Road. Over the past month we have had three musical events and are looking forward to this Sunday’s La Bande à Jaco performance at 2pm. The local band performs a Spanish / Latino musical mix of originals and standards. Everyone is welcome. Admission is $10 and $5 for RCM members. Please call for more information.

This is the strength of community, supporting each other to achieve a greater goal, and to build a stronger network that benefits everyone. Being who we are is CIDI, lots of great shows, lots of wonderful hosts and terrific volunteers. Give us a listen, send us your comments and suggestions, we always want to hear from you all and play the stuff you want to hear.

For those of you who can’t pick us up on the radio, go to our website (rcmmedia.org) and click on the live-streaming button. If you missed a show you can listen to it on the CIDI player or go to the show/host pages and listen to past programs.

Maurice Singfield is a Radio Communautaire Missisquoi volunteer. Tel: 450-242-9873 / 1-888-539-2098.

A novel concept, having Radio Communautaire Missisquoi’s very own Radio Village Hall in Knowlton? Not really. Radio concert halls are prominent throughout the world. A simple Google-search shows that there’s a radio concert hall in just about every country. Radio has been synonymous with concert halls since its inception.

The concept of commercial radio not having such performance spaces has led most people in North America to believe that radio doesn’t need them anymore. The idea is to use the CD and MP3 as a vehicle along with our radios and sound systems to create a concert space in our cars, living rooms and offices, for example. It more or less leads us to believe that we don’t need live performance spaces anymore, only the few required to record the artists in the first place.

If we rely on the recording studios and remote recording facilities to recreate the ambience of live music in any location we wish to be in, means that we attend concerts less frequently and allow others to tell us what we should be listening to.

The choices of artists available on CD, because of technology, has grown incredibly over the years. The problem with that, is people with the recording facilities are the ones making the decisions. Sooner or later we’ll all be boxed into the perceptions of the few willing to produce the sounds that they prefer. What about us?

We can’t expect every budding artist to be in a situation to produce and record his/her own work. But we certainly can expect producer Joe Blow to record and distribute his idea of what good music is. Sooner or later we’ll have to get up out of our chairs and go to a place where music is being performed live to hear what’s really going on in our community. This is one of the reasons for Radio Village Hall.

Because music production is controlled by the producers, record companies and commercial radio, we have no choice, but to pick from their lists of artists for our musical entertainment. What are the chances that someone local from your community will be on those lists?

When an artist performs at Radio Village Hall, that artist is recorded for live or future broadcasts on CIDI and possibly Vox cable community TV. The immediate community also has the benefit of seeing the show live in a radio concert hall. Just like in the old days, today and in the days to come.

Oliver Jones in Radio Village Hall – summer of 2010

Our wonderful venue has already been used for the finale of the Stop! piano competition, our live broadcast of the New Year’s Eve Party, a concert by Le Vent des Cantons (a traditional folklore band) who will be coming back this Sunday, February 13 and soon followed by a performance by La band à Jacko (playing their own original version of Spanish and jazzy music) on February 20th. All local musicians, all very accomplished and professional. We encourage one and all to come out and support local talent. Most of the shows are only $5 for members of RCM! What a deal!

For a mere $10 per year you can become a member and enjoy the benefits of our great facilities, programming and live entertainment.

Send us an email or give us a call, or come visit us at the radio station in Knowlton. We want to hear your opinions and suggestions and present the artists you want to hear. You can also become a member of the team if you want to do a show or help out on the technical side. We welcome one and all, because first and foremost it is YOUR radio station, serving the community, promoting local businesses and events and bringing you what want to hear, because at CIDI 99.1 fm we are just being who we are.

For more information on how you can participate in RCM’s local Townships community radio station CIDI and its other multimedia projects, please call us at 450-242-9873 / 1-888-539-2098 and go to our website rcmmedia.org.

Maurice and Tanya Singfield are RCM volunteers.

The photo is of Oliver Jones in Radio Village Hall – summer of 2010 (courtesy of Klaus Bremer/RCM).

The time has come to stand up for what we believe in and start “movin’ on up to the eastside” of 305 Knowlton Road, in the Town of Brome Lake. To be more specific, where Valentine’s Restaurant used to be, right across from the post office. CIDI has been suffering from a lack of visibility and desperately needs attention.

Part of “being who we are” is to be noticed, and it doesn’t really happen when Radio Communautaire Missisquoi is hidden away in a basement. After all, we have to practice what we preach. As everyone knows by now, RCM`s mission statement is “Being Who We Are”, and it doesn’t bode well for us if we are hiding out in the shadows.

How about having a sign in front of our building, for a change, directing people’s attention to where we are located? It seems like a simple enough concept. So, what do we do with the newly acquired space?

Allow me to explain. RCM has brokered a deal with our landlord, Guy Lussier, who is a major supporter of CIDI, to take over an available store-front space that’s in the same building. RCM plans to create a reception area in the venue with 50 chairs donated by Matthew Baker of the Cowansville Funeral complex and use the room as a live radio production studio, internet cafe with live music.

CIDI and shows RCM’s new reception on Knowlton Road in Knowlton

When Valentine’s Restaurant occupied the location it had closed off the original interior entrance to the basement where RCM is. By opening up the entrance CIDI will finally have a proper safe entrance to its operations: production studios and Radio Village Hall.

At the moment we have an exterior staircase, which during the winter can be hazardous. Also, at any time of the year it presents a problem for the disabled. Now, we can be assured that people will have easy access to our studios in the basement and our reception area which will be in the old restaurant space at street level.

The new space is large enough to hang 125 sponsorship signs. At $300 a sign RCM expects to raise $37, 500 to support its community outreach programs and operations. Each sign is 24″ x 16″ and will represent the support of a business or individual. If six people, for example, put up $50 each in support of CIDI, we’ll have a sign made up, featuring their names, and hang it in our new reception space for one year, starting June 1, 2011. And, we’ll broadcast their names as friends of RCM fifty two times over the same period. The offer is open as well to any business or organization that is willing to support CIDI.

RCM has made a commitment to develop the arts in its community by way of its 2003 CRTC decision. Mind you, not all people understand what the arts are. Developing the arts doesn’t mean having to come up with fine-arts, ballet or theatre programs. No. It means developing the means of expression inherent in all of us. Culture is human activity and art is the process by which we record it.

RCM focuses mainly on the recording arts and sciences to better present and document the activity of its community. It also trains members, its main market, in presenting their art. We have hosts, musicians, actors, technicians, writers, producers and promoters developing their talents within our organization. Why? Because we have the facilities and expertise, a Steinway grand piano, the recording technology (audio and video), Radio Village Hall, a radio station and an interactive internet website.

Mind you, there could be a ballet dancer or painter that needs our help to promote their works through radio, TV and the print media. However one looks at it, we help develop the arts in our community in the hope of building community.

We invite all of you to participate in our community-building efforts. Please consider supporting RCM by selling a sign to be hung on our reception walls. If you have friends or know of someone in business who wants to have extra exposure we’re ready to make the signs and hang them. Onwards and upwards!

Tune into CIDI 99.1 FM for the real take on who you are. If you can’t pick us up on your radio then live stream us online at rcmmedia.org. You can also become a member and find out more information about our sign campaign by phoning 450-242-9873 or 1-888-539-20987.

The photo is courtesy David Anderson.

Maurice Singfield is an RCM volunteer.

With trained staff, a broadcast tower facility, two equipped production studios, a performance studio with stage lighting and a Steinway grand piano, Radio Communautaire Missisquoi has more potential, in the eyes of the federal government, than ever before.

With a mandate from the CRTC to develop talent, RCM has done what is required of it; built a performance venue and put on shows featuring Canadian artists for recording and broadcast. RCM does not develop artists by simply playing CDs nor does any other broadcaster. The CBC, for example, has the Glenn Gould Studio in Toronto and we have Radio Village Hall in the Town of Brome Lake.

Community radio cannot be a clone of commercial radio. As mentioned in the Canadian Community Radio Policy: “The Commission’s (CRTC’s) primary objective for the community radio sector is that it provide a local programming service that differs in style and substance from that provided by commercial stations…”

Discovering new talent: Véronique Hamel, 18 years old, 1st Place winner of the piano Stop! show competition 2010.

It’s not as if, now that we have a tower and a 500 watt transmitter, we are going to magically fulfill our mandate with the government by simply playing music with a smattering of chatter and interviews, and fill our coffers with money from advertising. Why would anyone want to advertise on CIDI? We aren’t allowed to play the most current trendy music on a regular basis, the main reason why most people listen to radio according to the studies.

We have to reflect our community first. This is what the government wants, as outlined in its policy: “A community radio station is owned and controlled by a not-for-profit organization…Programming should reflect the diversity of the market that the station is licensed to serve.”

I might add that not one commercial radio station would venture into such an undertaking. Radio consultants have long figured out that if a station wants to attract listeners it should focus on a specific market, not appeal to all demographics. Thus we have stations such as Classic Rock, Oldies etc..

The Policy further states “…that community stations have an important role to play in the development, support and exposure of local talent. The Commission expects community stations to continue to undertake initiatives to promote and feature music by new Canadian artists, local artists and artists whose music is seldom heard on other stations. These initiatives should be described in applications for new licenses and for licensee renewal.” Now you know why RCM puts on musical events in our community.

The broadcasting decision of the CRTC titled 2003-199, made in Ottawa, July 2, 2003 in regards to RCM’s community radio broadcasting application says: “The applicant will record local talent and broadcast these recordings on air at later dates. It will also make its studios available to local artists to record their own work and will provide scholarships and grants to young people for talent shows and contests.” Now you know why we have the Stop! talent shows and Radio Village Hall events.

I have been told by well meaning supporters of RCM that we should drop our “dream projects” (Radio Village Hall, Stop! TV & radio shows and promotional events featuring local talent who are recorded for broadcast) and focus solely on radio if we wish to remain viable in the future. Excuse me! What do they think community radio is?

Further to RCM’s CRTC decision: “RCM stated that it will advertise on radio and in local newspapers and flyers to invite members of the community to participate in the proposed station…A full-time paid station manager will be responsible for training and supervising volunteers to ensure that they operate the station in accordance with its licensing requirements.” This is why I write this column and train RCM volunteers. The thing is, I don’t get paid. Some people think I am wasting my time. Am I? I might add that it has been suggested I stop writing this column as well.

Let me encourage all of you who are interested, willing and able, to join our ranks at CIDI 99.1 FM and to help shine a light on our beautiful part of the world. Give us a listen, send us your comments. If you can’t pick us up on the radio go to our website and click on the live-stream button at rcmmedia.org.

Maurice Singfield is an RCM volunteer.

Little Jack Horner sat in a corner, eating his Christmas pie
He put in his thumb and pulled out a plum
And said “What a good boy am I!”

Well, we say hit the road Jack! CIDI’s success is guaranteed only by Radio Communautaire Missisquoi volunteers working TOGETHER. A team has brought us this far and a team will continue to reflect who we are. No one person is better than another and everyone in the group has to discover what he or she has to offer.

Working together means understanding one’s limitations and respecting each other. I cannot do my job properly if certain members believe I am more of a deterrent than an incitement. Sooner or later I would have to improve my relations with the membership or accept the consequences.

Improvement is the operative word here. Finding one’s niche in a non-profit is based on understanding. What is it that RCM offers its community? How can we as individuals help realize its purpose? Can we become better at what we want to do to insure its success? Always.

Criticism is like an ice-cold shower. Shocking, yet refreshing in a way. It becomes a problem, however, if we are unable to acclimatize or find the hot water faucet. The only solution is to escape the deluge as quickly as possible. Ask not what RCM can do for you, but what you can do for RCM.

“The common good” is the foundation of a non-profit. It has to be. If one’s community is not being served by the company then it’s because its members fail to understand what they are supposed to be doing. RCM is an arts-development company and if this definition becomes tiresome, because of its inclusion in this column on a regular basis, then I would have to consider changing my spiel to suit the readership at large. I have not received any complaints as of late. Phew!

RCM is a start-up, struggling with growth. As we stretch the current boundaries of our existence we create pain momentarily, and longevity through cooperation and understanding. We offer our community self-confidence, and deliver, because as members we are confident. If we can’t be, then there is no forward motion, no “the proof is in the pudding” and no success.

If RCM’s members think only of themselves, what the organization can do for them and how they should be compensated for volunteer time instead of what they can do for their community, there is no future for the association. RCM is here because of its volunteers and their belief in the cause. That’s it.

Together we can do it – Gabriel and Steve Paglia at CIDI. Steve Paglia is the host of Mostly Canadian Unplayed.

As we grow, so do our responsibilities to the company and the community. We have to realize that we need help in order to improve our skills and meet the challenges of the future. After all, we don’t know everything but we’ve certainly come a long way and accomplished a lot within a relatively short time. Amazing really, so let’s not give up now.

I am asking all who are interested in expanding the horizons of RCM to call the station, become a member and to help realize the dream of developing the arts in the Townships through our Radio Village Hall, CIDI 99.1 FM, TV Stop! shows, website and events. We need help in many areas such as management, accounting, administration, production (both video and audio), events production, marketing, communications and website design.

We encourage all of you to join our ranks and help shine a light on our beautiful part of the world. We have not come this far for nothing. Being who we are is CIDI, lots of great shows, lots of wonderful hosts and terrific volunteers. Give us a listen, send us your comments and suggestions, we always want to hear from you all and play the stuff you want to hear.

Maurice & Tanya Singfield is an RCM volunteer. Tel: 450-242-9873 / 1-888-539-2098.

An organization that decides to challenge conventional wisdom confronts a mixed audience comprised of old supporters, who may feel betrayed, and potential new supporters who may be suspicious of its motives. Radio Communautaire Missisquoi is in such a position.

The disussion is about Radio. What is radio about? Money, art or bingo? No matter what an organization does for a living it has to be viable and community radio is no different. But RCM is.

We believe community radio is part of a team. It survives because it has a symbiotic relationship with events, production and promotion. Without that, it’s taking up space and relentlessly flopping in the sand like a fish out of water. Community radio is not an ego trip. It’s about people having a kick at the can. CIDI does its best to present them all in a professional light with the help of its expert volunteers and paid staff; John Cameron-sound engineer, Justin Cuplinskas-internet & broadcast technician, Scott Edmonston-producer/audio engineer, Holly Bailey-producer and Nathaniel Fraser-automated broadcast systems.

Together, we have recreated radio, and offer a host of services to the community, part of which is audio and video recording. Video is part of radio because today radio has an internet presence and video is big on the net. Even our glorified CBC radio has YouTube versions of their shows online.

RCM has built its very own Radio Village Hall in order to produce its programs featuring artists performing in front of microphones and cameras. The convergence of media in today’s world is very important for CIDI to realize. And it does.

On Sunday January 9, from 1:30 to 4 pm, RCM will present Le Vent des Cantons, a trio from the Brome Missisquoi region specializing in traditional Quebecois folklore music. The group has been together since February 2008. They play a variety of long-established music, reels, jigs and songs. Claire Ouellet plays piano and sings, Laurencio Beaudin plays diatonic accordion and foot percussion and Robert (Bob) Goulet plays the rhythm bones and other traditional percussion. For more information go to their website at leventdescantons.com.

The idea is to produce regular shows in Radio Village Hall, this being the first of the new year, so as to pay the rent and create radio programming. Le Vent des Cantons wants to produce a live CD for their fans. In exchange for performing in RVH, RCM will record their performances and produce an album for them. We get to keep whatever we collect at the door. A symbiotic relation in the true sense of the word.

Le Vent des Cantons

And so we look to the future to continue to grow and hopefully create radio content that captivates and intrigues. I hope you all continue to join RCM’s great radio adventure and become a part of our little radio station nestled in the foothills of the Appalachian Mountains.

We encourage all those who are interested, willing and able, to join our ranks and to help shine a light on our beautiful part of the world. Being who we are is CIDI 99.1 FM, lots of great shows, lots of wonderful hosts and terrific volunteers. Give us a listen, send us your comments and suggestions, we always want to hear from you all and play the stuff you want to hear. Live stream us at rcmmedia.org.

Admission is $5 for the “Le Vent des Cantons” show this Sunday from 1:30 to 4 pm at Radio Village Hall, 305B Knowlton Road, Knowlton. We encourage all who attend to become RCM members for the nominal fee of $10. Thank you.

Maurice Singfield is an RCM volunteer.

Another year ended, a new year begins. This New Year’s Eve, Radio Communautaire Missisquoi has lots to celebrate with its brand-new tower, transmitter and market. A new horizon is in view and the team is ready to rock.

With five employees and our brand new Radio Village Hall, RCM plans to become a major talent presenter in Brome Missisquoi. Unlike a majority of other venues, RVH is part of a radio station. And unlike most radio stations today, CIDI has access to a radio performance hall, much the same as traditional radio did back in the days of Radio City Music Hall in New York City.

The concept is simple and stems from the community radio broadcast act of Canada. Community radio stations are expected to develop local talent. It takes more than playing CDs on air in order to do that. Community radio needs to record the available local talent and help artists produce their music. This is why RCM has built RVH and its studios in such a way that it can record live performances for future broadcasts and distribution to the general public via CDs (and/or DVDs).

To RCM, talent doesn’t exist without venues. All performing artists need places to play. To most young musicians (and older ones) in the Townships, trying to develop their talents is difficult, and for most artists organized well enough to take an act on the road they need to be showcased. CIDI is provides such a tool. With a Steinway grand piano and the equipment to record and broadcast artists for radio, TV and live audiences, RVH provides the perfect outlet.

Richard Proice aka Professor Tickle in RVH

To some people, performance and radio being the same thing is hard to understand. That’s because things have changed so much over the years there is very little live performing done on radio anymore (other than by show hosts and an assorted variety of talking heads). RCM believes that the chances of success in business are better, if an organization makes a point of doing the opposite of its competition. What better way to go than to provide a performance space for artists?

Every event organized for RVH will be in front of a live audience. To attend, people will have to become RCM members, if they aren’t already, for a nominal price of $10. Once a member, admission is no more than $5 for future events.

The next two events at RVH will be our New Year’s Eve party broadcast live tonight at 9 pm ’til 2 am and “Les Vents des Cantons”, a local folklore band, on January 9th from 1 pm to 4 pm. RCM’s plan is to have at least two events a month. Imagine how this is going to effect the sound of our station? Imagine how this will effect the confidence of our community? You’ve all heard it here before. RCM’s product, that special thing it offers the community, is self-confidence.

Are we not doing our job, fulfilling our mandate? Of course we are! Do people understand what we are up to? Some of them do. I guess we have to call upon our volunteers and membership to assist in the all-important job of promoting the station. Guess what? With every event that we produce in RVH we attract new members and get the word out to the public at large. It’s a message that says we exist and are doing something, giving something back to our community, which in turn allows us to solicit our community for donations. Why would anyone donate to a community radio station if there’s no evidence it’s community building?

I’ve heard people say, you’ve got to have an on-air fundraiser similar to Vermont Public Radio. The thing is we don’t have, as of yet, a telephone system that can take the calls. It would take an investment of $5,000 plus. We’ll have one. But, are we ready?

I would like to think that everyone within range of CIDI is listening, but I don’t think so. Let’s get real. We’ve just built a tower on Patch Hill. There are a lot of people that don’t yet know we exist. With limited budgets and energy, do we print bumper stickers or take the time to build a foundation?

I leave you with this thought: Professor Tickle (CIDI’s resident vernacular expert) performed at the New Year’s Eve live broadcast last year but I haven’t yet managed to confirm his presence at this year’s celebration. We hope he will come. The thought that others will be there to take his place if he doesn’t show up, or play next to him if he does, encourages me.

As I have said before, we have a great team of volunteers and members that believe in who they are. They are looking to RCM to help provide a voice and face for their community on local radio and TV. Please tune in to CIDI via the internet or at 99.1 FM on your radio dial. Come to a show at RVH, contact us at 1-888-539-2098 or 450-242-9873, or go to our website at rcmmedia.org to become a member.

Don’t forget to join us for tonight’s New Year’s Eve countdown, coming to you LIVE! on CIDI from 9 pm ’til midnight and partying on with the Wickermen until 2 am, or show up for the live show if you can. We welcome one and all.
Happy New Year!

Maurice Singfield is an RCM volunteer.

St. Paul’s United Church in Waterloo was built on main street (Foster Street) in 1864. It was originally a Methodist church also used by the Anglicans. They had traveling ministers known as “circuit riders” who mostly came up from the States. Unfortunately, the church burned to the ground in 1868 but was reconstructed and dedicated in June of 1869 for a mere $6,000! A great deal of money at the time nonetheless.

Over the years, a lot has happened and many things have changed. As the population grew older, many church members became less active or passed away. A lot of the younger people moved on to pursue their educations or jobs elsewhere. Eventually, the Manse had to be sold in 1979 due to a lack of funds.

The United Church Women have always been very active and supportive of the Church.

The United Church Waterloo

With their ham and turkey suppers, their delicious home-made pies and their ever popular Christmas Bazaar, they have been busy raising money and serving the community for years. But alas, despite everybody’s best efforts, there was not enough money in the coffers to continue. The Church needed a lot of repairs which the congregation could not afford. Came the sad day, that the church building itself had to be put up for sale. The congregation was in despair, no hope in sight.

BUT!!! Lo and behold, there came a knight in shining armour to save the day. John Cadeddu is a native of Waterloo. He lived on Clark Hill and attended Waterloo Elementary School and then Massey-Vanier High-School where he met his wife-to-be Wendy, a native of Cowansville. They did not start dating until a couple of years later, and eventually got married and moved to California. “We just had one cold Quebec winter too many” said Cadeddu.

The Cadeddu Family: the children left to right Theodore, Jasmine, Max and Drake and Wendy and John Cadeddu in the back.

In California, Cadeddu attended Stanford University and graduated with an MBA in 1992. He then went on to become an investor and a very successful one at that. Although they live California, the Cadeddus still consider themselves to be Townshippers at heart. They have four children, three boys and a girl, ages three to twelve. Every summer they come back to the Townships to visit with their families so the children can get to see their grandparents.

Through their parents, they heard about our plight. They decided to set up a foundation and bail out the churches. Their “Seven Churches and Charitable Works Foundation” bought the churches in Waterloo and Cowansville (their two home towns). The foundation will pay for all necessary repairs, maintenance and operating costs, leasing the church to the congregation for $1 dollar a year for 99 years! Wow!!! Unbelievable and unexpected. A miracle, just in time for Christmas. Yes Virginia, there is a Santa Claus and fairy tales do come true. Thank you so much John and Wendy! We look forward to meeting you all next summer when you return for your annual visit back home. We all do what we must in life, but wherever the path may lead to, home is where the heart is.

This is the strength of community, supporting each other to achieve a greater goal, and to build a stronger network that benefits everyone. Being who we are is CIDI, lots of great shows, lots of wonderful hosts and terrific volunteers. Give us a listen, send us your comments and suggestions, we always want to hear from you all and play the stuff you want to hear.

For those of you who can’t pick us up on the radio, go to our website at rcmmedia.org and click on the live-streaming button. If you missed a show you can listen to it on the CIDI player or go to the show/host pages and listen to past programs.

Wishing all of our readers and listeners a joyous holiday and happy, healthy and prosperous New Year. Keep the Faith!

The photo of the church is courtesy David Anderson / CIDI.
The photo of the Cadeddu family is courtesy of John Cadeddu. In the family photo you have.

Tanya Singfield is a Radio Communautaire Missisquoi volunteer. Tel: 450-242-9873 / 1-888-539-2098.

“To be or not to be – that is the question…”, one of the best known quotes from Shakespeare, provides us with an image of humans suffering, and wrestling with the question of who we are. Radio Communautaire Missisquoi believes the answer is in its mission statement, “being who we are”. To be who you are is the most important way to be. In order to achieve this goal one has to be confident.

RCM’s board of directors decided that the product it sells would be confidence, back in the day when the organization was looking for a mission statement. To many at the time it seemed to be a statement of hot air. Confidence? How can one sell confidence?

Well (I am risking being a broken record here), a non-profit organization sells a product much the same as a commercial corporation. The point is that the non-profit product has to change a human being, make a difference in their life. Sure, a new chair or a pair of shoes will change the life of a person, but what is it that will change the person? This is the question. The to-be-or-not-to-be proposition takes on an air of having to commit suicide in order to resolve the problems of life. RCM proposes life itself. Being who we are; something that can’t be achieved without a certain level of self confidence, the thing we offer.

Talk to our CIDI and TV show hosts. Don’t you think they’re getting a confidence boost every time they go on-air?

Let’s take a look at Hamlet’s soliloquy and see how it relates to us.

To be, or not to be– that is the question:
Whether ’tis nobler in the mind to suffer
The slings and arrows of outrageous fortune,
Or to take arms against a sea of troubles
And, by opposing, end them.

We all encounter problems in our lives. Let us confront our problems and find solutions. The best way to do this is through the development of self confidence. To be able to stand up and be counted creates resolution, simply because we create transparency when people know who we are. When we hide and sneak behind the backs of supposed adversaries we create suspicion and block personal and corporate development. We have nothing to hide. Honesty is the best policy.

To die, to sleep
No more – and by a sleep to say we end
The heartache and the thousand natural shocks
That flesh is heir to – ’tis a consummation
Devoutly to be wished.

Well ok, great, no more heartaches or problems but what about all the good stuff? Let’s not throw the baby out with the bathwater. We’re all scheduled to depart sooner or later, so what’s the hurry? Enjoy it while you can. Life is about you, a person who needs light. The light belongs to you as well as the people who think they control it.

To die, to sleep
To sleep, perchance to dream.

Dreams are good. You gotta have heart and believe in something. If you don’t have a dream, how can you make a dream come true? High hopes, wish upon a star. Why did they write all those songs? The wise men followed the star to Bethlehem, didn’t they?

Hamlet’s speech is much too long to include it in its entirety, but how about one more quote:

Thus conscience doth make cowards of us all,
And thus the native hue of resolution
Is sicklied o’er with the pale cast of thought,
And enterprises of great pith and moment
With this regard their currents turn awry,
And lose the name of action.

Rumour has it that Shakespeare would have bought a Stop! t-shirt

In short, if we fear to act, we will not act at all. What’s the point of doing nothing? It achieves nothing and serves no purpose. We all have ideas and talents and are here on earth for a reason, but the greatest ideas are useless if nobody else knows about them. Don’t be afraid to express yourself. Be who you are and do what you believe in.

At CIDI radio 99.1 fm this is our motto. “Being who we are”. We encourage each and every person to express themselves to the best of their ability. Rumour has it that Shakespeare would have bought a Stop! t-shirt had he been around for our competitions.

We are extremely fortunate to have attracted so many wonderful volunteers to date, but we always have room for more. Come join us and be who YOU are. RCM’s annual general meeting will be held this Sunday morning at 9am at 305B Knowlton Road in Knowlton. You are all welcome to attend and have your voice heard.

Maurice and Tanya Singfield along with Will Shakespeare are RCM volunteers. 1-888-539-2098

a re-print from “The Record”

I grew up as a teenager in the 1960s, let my hair down and was dedicated to following the trends of the day. It’s amazing how music defined my generation, like all others before and after. I don’t know, but music seems to have a special way of reflecting the times.

Like an old piano, music betrays the secrets of time. A spindled leg from the early 1900s is much different from a new one, and the sound of music from the 20s is far different from the sounds of today. Memories cling to art like flies to sticky paper and our lives hang somewhere in time ready to be rediscovered and deciphered by new generations.

Maurice Singfield 2007

As we speak and act, the “sounds of silence” are created, for spoken words and expressions are retired immediately to the past, where quietude is reality. The thoughts that created our actions, are preserved in what we leave behind; buildings, instruments, books, automobiles, architecture, music, business, institutions, everything we create. Works of art.

My spirit clung to the music of the day, and in the sixties I began to create my own songs, band and life. While in high school, I played in a group called Les Notables with my brother Bryan. Bryan played the drums and I played the guitar. The other two members provided the traditional Beatle-combo make up for groups of the day; two guitars, bass and drums.

I can remember looking forward to the weekly practices more than anything else in my world at the time. In anticipation I’d stand by the window waiting to spot the car of our bass player coming to pick us up on scheduled practice evenings. We rehearsed in a basement of a Waterloo restaurant converted into a practice space set up by the two older members. I was seventeen, Bryan fifteen and the other two were well into their twenties.

Every weekend we played high schools throughout Quebec, earning a decent wage while preparing for graduation. I can remember studying for a physics exam in our band’s van between sets. Unfortunately, today’s young musicians don’t have school gymnasiums to perform in on a regular basis. The turbulent Sixties was the time the music died. It was kicked out of the schools. Bryan and I, along with members of our generation were thrown into the waiting arms of the bars and clubs. We never considered ourselves to be alcohol salesmen until that moment.

Working for the alcohol trade meant that the hours were longer and as a result, the pay was less. It was around this time that we decided to go our own way and formed Oliver Klaus. Over the years we went through many different incarnations, but always continued to write and perform our own songs. Oliver Klaus gradually became known for their originals at a time when it was unheard of for bands to push their own compositions in local venues.

Oliver Klaus 1969

“Being who we are” is not easy and requires a certain level of self confidence. We were lucky, because we had the support of our community, the greatest confidence builder of all. The schools, before they closed the door on a scene they couldn’t understand, and our parents, friends and relatives were all very supportive. Okay, so we didn’t become internationally famous, but we had the opportunity and chose not to. This is the point. We have to give our children the opportunity to express themselves so they can find out who they are. If you don’t try on a coat before purchasing it you’ll probably be sorry you bought it.

“The sounds of silence” come alive through performance. And, even though Oliver Klaus was part of the sixties, it’s still a component of today’s social fabric (albeit local), writing new songs and playing the tunes its members grew up on. Why not? Life is not always about fame and fortune, but about expression, the heart, and supporting community.

Giving people a chance is what Radio Communautaire Missisquoi (RCM) is all about. This is why I support the CIDI community radio project. RCM gives people a chance by allowing them to perform and training them to be better at what they do. Our community has to be confident if it wants to be successful. Oliver Klaus is successful simply because its members continue to express themselves and hopefully encourage others to do the same.

Tomorrow night at the Maison de La Culture in Waterloo Oliver Klaus will take the stage once again. You’re all welcome to join us in support of RCM/CIDI and help develop the arts in the Eastern Townships. The sounds of silence will be our community’s legacy. Express yourselves and be part of the action. Showtime is 8pm and tickets are $35. Come join the party! For more information please call 450-539-4764 or 450-242-9873. You can reserve your tickets at ovation.qc.ca and get more details from RCM’s website.

Maurice Singfield is an RCM volunteer.

The grand finale of the Stop! show took place on Saturday November 27th . Our three judges Miklos Takcs, Guylaine Charbonneau and Jean Wiedrick reached their decisions.

The winners of the Competition have been chosen:
• Véronique Hamel (Waterloo) – 1st place ($500),
• Emilie Dion (Granby) – 2nd place ($350),
• Adelaide Ménard-Tremblay (Granby) – 3rd place $150
• and Pascalin Naud (Roxton Pond) – the People’s Choice award.

The money prizes were sponsored by the Caisse Populaire de Waterloo. Congratulations and best of luck to all the winners in their future endeavors.

The awards ceremony took place in Knowlton at RCM’s Radio Village Hall, inaugurating the room as a performance venue. With enough space to seat eighty people, RCM is certain that Radio Village Hall will prove to be an important asset to the community.

The difference between this venue and other local rooms is that it is wired to the world through internet, radio and TV. The production-partnership arrangement between RCM and Télévision Communautaire de Waterloo allowed the event to be taped for cable transmission in the coming weeks on Channel Vox out of Granby, part of the Videotron community cable network.

CIDI 99.1 FM, RCM’s Community radio station, will in turn process the audio portion of the recording and broadcast it over the airwaves. Later, the audio and video will be configured for internet streaming on its website www.rcmmedia.org The important thing about this convergence process is that our community now has a voice and a face. A way to meet the demands of a new electronic world. Now we can present ourselves accordingly. Otherwise no one will ever know who we are. Possibly not even ourselves.

Stop! Piano competition 2010: Grand Winner Véronique Hamel

Whenever artists come to perform at Radio Village Hall, they expand their reach into the outside world as well as the community. The six young piano contestants each performed a piece of music of their own choice on RCM’s Steinway grand piano to an appreciative audience.

We were extremely fortunate that the weather cleared up after a horrific but thankfully brief midday squall so that all of the contestants, judges and CIDI volunteers to man the cameras and sound system, the hosts and volunteers preparing the reception, not to mention the audience were able to attend. We had a full house and everyone thoroughly enjoyed the show.

At the moment, the judgement show, where each judge gets to explain the reasoning behind their choices is running on TV to be followed by the actual grand finale. A great big thank you to all of our sponsors, members and volunteers. It was without doubt a most enjoyable and successful event.

The next big show to look forward to is the Oliver Klaus show on December 11th at the Maison de la Culture de Waterloo. They don’t perform very often and this time they will include three guest artists, Brian Blain from Toronto on guitar, Jean Wiedrick formerly of Granby and now Waterloo on keyboard and Julian Singfield, guitar and vocals. It’s gonna be a great show! Tickets are going fast, so make sure to reserve yours by calling the Maison de la Culture at 450-539-4764 or CIDI in Knowlton at 450-242-9873. You can also purchase your tickets online at www.ovation.qc.ca. Makes a great Christmas present for the Klaus fans in your family!

We encourage all of you who are interested, willing and able, to join our ranks and to help shine a light on our beautiful part of the world. We have not come this far for nothing. Being who we are is CIDI, lots of great shows, wonderful hosts, terrific volunteers and exciting events. Give us a listen at CIDI 99.1 FM or online at www.rcmmedia.org. Send us your comments and suggestions, we always want to hear from you all and play the stuff you want to hear.

Maurice & Tanya Singfield are RCM volunteers. Tel: 450-242-9873 / 1-888-539-2098.

What on earth is Radio Village Hall? A totally new idea, a unique broadcasting concept and project created specifically for the Townships community, right here in Ville de Lac Brome. Radio Communautaire Missisquoi (RCM), with devoted volunteers, has built a performance venue at 305B Knowlton Road in Knowlton (CIDI’s recording studios) ready to be wired to the world, positioned to send out messages of who we are and what we do.

RCM’s radio station, CIDI 99.1 FM with its global web portal www.rcmmedia.org, has been successfully broadcasting and internet streaming Townships life on a daily basis for the past three years. Radio Village Hall will be plugged into this network, feeding even more information about ourselves through press conferences, musical events and live programs to the rest of the world.

Since it began broadcasting, RCM has been producing radio and TV programming about Townships life. Radio Village Hall is a professionally designed room with lights and sound for video and audio production. Not only will the world be able to hear us, but see us. Video on the Web has fast developed into a new frontier.

Being the home of RCM’s Steinway grand piano (used for two Orford/Ville de Lac Brome concerts this past summer), Radio Village Hall will present shows for radio, TV and the Internet of local and visiting artists, featuring all genres of music.

RCM volunteer Suzanne Rodrigue getting the Radio Village Hall ready.

RCM has often partnered with other organizations to help develop the arts in the Townships. RCM’s community TV, radio, internet and events programming would not be possible without the participation of the Town of Brome Lake, Cowansville, Bromont, West Bolton, The Brome Missisquoi MRC, CRE, the CLD of Brome Missisquoi, Canadian Heritage, the Quebec Government, Télévision Communautaire de Waterloo, SEM recording studio in Waterloo, John Cameron Audio in Knowlton, La Caisse Populaire de Waterloo, La Maison de la Culture de Waterloo, The Townshippers’ Association and Videotron’s community cable network “Vox” out of Granby. Already we have increased the radius of exposure for our community.

For four years now RCM has been producing its “Stop!” TV music competition for young people. At the moment “Stop!” is featuring six young contestants in a classical piano competition. We are extremely fortunate to have three judges: two local music teachers/performers, Guylaine Charbonneau and Jean Wiedrick, and UQAM university professor/choir director Miklos Tackacs.

Thanks to the Caisse Populaire de Waterloo, we are able to offer a total of $1,000 in prize money. The grand finale will be presented on Saturday, Nov 27th with all contestants and judges in attendance at Radio Village Hall. The performances and award presentation will be recorded for future radio and TV broadcasts and followed by a reception, allowing the audience to meet the young artists in person. Everyone is welcome. In place of an admission fee we encourage people to make a donation or to purchase a $10 annual RCM membership. With a membership card members can expect to receive up to a 50% reduction on certain RCM events to be held at the Radio Village Hall.

Please give us a listen and lend your support to the project. Together we continue to build a successful community and radio station. We encourage all those who are interested, willing and able, to join our ranks and to help shine a light on our beautiful part of the world. Being who we are is CIDI, lots of great shows, lots of wonderful hosts and terrific volunteers. Give us a listen, send us your comments and suggestions, we always want to hear from you all and play the stuff you want to hear. And if you can’t pick us up on the radio go to rcmmedia.org and click on the live streaming button.

Maurice & Tanya Singfield are RCM volunteers. Tel: 450-242-9873 / 1-888-539-2098.

What does it take to build a social-conscious institution that’s resistant to stagnation and the test of time, and able to make a positive change?

“Change is good”, an expression not quite as popular as “how’re you doing?”, implies a willingness to face the challenges of the day with courage and faith in the unknown. Whereas “how’re you doing?”, a question that implies an acceptance of the status quo expects “oh, just fine” as a response. Two people involved in such an exchange (at the post office possibly) would never expect a response such as, “I have to think about it”.

“Change is good” doesn’t evoke an immediate reaction. As much as we want change in our society we don’t want it. The turn of phrase works well as a political slogan however, but hits ground zero when it comes to our personal comfort. Is “being who we are”, therefore, about feeling secure and not rocking the boat?

How many times have we seen written on political posters “vote for change”? The political nonsense refers to “yes, we want change as long as it insures we don’t have to change”. The thing is, we have to realize that being who we are equals change, and if we want to develop as a community we have to accept it. We have to admit we’re not perfect, don’t know everything, need to get on with the task of learning and possibly doing things for ourselves, for a change.

Building an organization is good as long as it doesn’t end up languishing in an atmosphere of mediocrity. Radio Communautaire Missisquoi has set its sights on becoming an institution that creates change by allowing people in its community to express themselves. Everyone has something to say, offer and develop.

According to www.dictionary.reference.com “an institution is an organization, establishment, foundation, society, or the like, devoted to the promotion of a particular cause or program, esp. one of a public, educational, or charitable character.” Although RCM technically doesn’t have charitable status we are charitable all the same. Letting people be who they are, in today’s world, is being very generous. Our world still has the notion that one must conform to a governing body’s idea of correctness, political or otherwise. Why? Because it’s all about the money.

Obviously there are good institutions and bad ones, depending on what side of the fence you’re on. Governments reflect popular opinion and in order to stay in power have to insure the stability of social institutions that support the fears and hopes of tax payers. RCM has to position itself carefully if it wants to make a positive contribution to society. The best position to take, we believe, is in oneself as a community and as an individual.

We can’t argue with the fact that being confident insures success. The problem is, a confident person pursuing criminal activities can also achieve. Thus the rationale behind having social-conscious institutions, is to prevent the bad guys from gaining control. On the other hand who decides what’s good or bad?
RCM doesn’t believe in harming people, so that means we can’t do a lot of things. We have a responsibility to our community to filter the flow of information and activities that are presented by our organization through its media outlets; radio, television, internet and the print media. The filter process is meant to illuminate a positive self image of an Eastern Townships community and its potential successful future. Nothing wrong with that.

This week, as a community, we remembered those who fought to preserve our way of life. Men and women who gave their lives, the ultimate sacrifice. How sad, but yet how wonderful. We owe our lives to them.

How do we rationalize the give and take of life and death? Could it possibly be that by trying to create a way of life whereby another life is not harmed, we might be able to achieve peace? It’s an ideal, but we have to start somewhere.

At CIDI, we have the privilege of having a terrific team of volunteers who come up with fresh and original ideas each and every week and a wide variety of programs all year long! What a treat. But we always appreciate feedback from our listeners and welcome new ideas, the more the merrier.

So don’t be shy, speak up, send us an email or give us a call, or come visit us at the radio station in Knowlton. We want to hear your opinions and suggestions and play the stuff you want to hear. You can also become a member of the team if you want to do a show or help out on the technical side. We welcome one and all, because first and foremost it is YOUR radio station, serving the community, promoting local businesses and events and bringing you what want to hear, because at CIDI 99.1 fm we are just being who we are.

We salute all Canadian veterans for giving CIDI and its community the opportunity to be who we are. Thank you.

Maurice Singfield Sr. with his beautiful war bride Christle – 1945

For more information on how you can participate in RCM’s local Townships community radio station CIDI and its other multimedia projects, please call us at 450-242-9873 / 1-888-539-2098 and go to our website rcmmedia.org.

Maurice Singfield is an RCM volunteer.

Hello. I’ve appeared in these pages before, and since I am also a recording artist, I probably need no introduction. For those unfortunate few who may not be “au courant” as they say, the name is Singfield, Smoke Singfield. I prefer my vittles dry, not mushy.

I don’t usually write articles. This week I had to do it because Maurice and Tanya are too busy and tired.

Several years ago, I have to admit that I was sort of homeless. I wandered around the town of Waterloo and came upon a nice big house that had friendly humans in it. I decided to move in. Wise decision.

Mostly, I eat and sleep, but I do earn my keep by catching mice from time to time. I’ve also caught a couple of bats and I chase the pesky squirrels off the deck in the summer.

Smoke Singfield with the stop awards

The people who live in my house are Maurice, who works all the time on many different projects, such as TV and radio shows, his piano business and takes care of the house and car. Then there is Tanya, who likes to cook and play bridge and reads a lot of books. She sort of looks after the inside of the house. They like to listen to music of all kinds. My favourite artist (aside from myself, of course) is Cat Stevens. But I also like Verdi.

Sometimes their children come to visit. The eldest son, Julian, is pretty cool, he has a comfy lap to sleep on. The next son, Adam was not initially keen on cats, but since meeting me he has come to see reason: to know me is to love me, especially since his girlfriend Cassie is a great cat lover and totally understands me. The youngest son, Nick, adores me but he tends to get overly affectionate, in which case I have to avoid him. He also has a lot of noisy friends, but fortunately they are not here often, so mostly I have the house to myself and that’s the way I like it.

Maurice runs a radio station in Knowlton, CIDI 99.1fm, along with many other devoted volunteers. They have a lot of wonderful programs which I listen to at times if I’m not too busy. On November 27th, they will be presenting the grand finale of the Stop! piano competition at Radio Village Hall (at the radio station in Knowlton) at 6:30 pm. The host, Guy Cote, will introduce the judges and the six contestants will play their best pieces. The trophies and the money prizes ($500 for 1st place, $350 for 2nd and $150 for 3rd) will be awarded to the winners with a small reception to follow, so people can meet the young pianists and the judges. There will also be a People’s Choice award which you can vote for online at www.rcmmedia.org. Once on the site just click on the “TV: Stop!” tab and vote for your three favourite contestants.

Admission is free, but people are encouraged to become members of Radio Communautaire Missisquoi by paying $10 at the door. New members will receive a membership card that will get them into future Radio Village Hall events at a reduction. Space is limited, so make sure you get there early, and please don’t forget to check out the contestants on our website and vote for your favourites.

It is our greatest desire to produce shows that will draw you in, to become a part of your daily life and to share in the dreams and joys that drive us all at the station here at CIDI. This is after all, the magic of radio. Please tune in to CIDI 99.1 fm if you can, or check us out via live streaming on your computer.

OK, I’m out of here now. Sure hope my “peeps” get back into it next week. Happy to help out, but I really don’t want to do this again, I need my sleep. I’m so glad I’m a cat.

Smoke Singfield is the CIDI mascot and volunteer. Tel: 450-242-9873 / 1-888-539-2098.

When I looked up the word library in my dictionary of word origins, it was said to have come from the Latin word “liber”, meaning book. The word liberty also stems from the Latin “liber” meaning free. How odd! Same word, two different meanings. In the case of the Waterloo Public Library, it is not odd at all. The books are actually free for children and students of all ages, no matter where they live. For adult residents of Waterloo, the membership fee is a mere $5 for two years thanks to a generous subsidy from the Town of Waterloo. For non-residents, it is $15 for two years. This is quite an unbelievable bargain.

The Waterloo Library was built in 1902. Serving the population of the time, it offered English books only, and catered to an older reading audience. Since then, the library has constantly changed with the times. Thanks to provincial, federal and municipal support, as well as a hefty donation from the Courville Foundation, an extension was added in 1985. The first computer arrived in 1997, donated by the Bill Gates Foundation. Today, there are eight computers, two for office use and six available to the general public, with internet access and occasionally, computer courses when there is sufficient demand.

Today, the Waterloo library has close to 1300 members. The books are now about 60%-40% French and English, reflecting the present demographics of our area. Besides all of the old classics and literary gems already on the shelves, the latest best sellers are regularly added to the list. Newspapers and magazines are also available, as well as reference books. Members can request a particular book they want at any time and Gisele will do her best to get it for you.

Giselle Dupuis

Giselle Dupuis has been the librarian since 1987, when she took over from her sister Ginette. After a couple of weeks of training, she was set to go and has pretty well learned on the job as she went along and kept up with the times. The rest of the staff are volunteers, although recently, the students who fill in on weekends have been getting paid.

The library is open from 9:30 to 11-30 am and 1 to 5pm Monday to Friday, and 10 to noon and 1 to 4pm on Saturday, and most recently, from 1 to 4pm on Sundays.

The library brunch has been a very successful and popular event since the 1980′s. The tables are beautifully set and they usually serve over 300 meals each year. The brunch is now “green”, meaning that they no longer use any plastic dishes or utensils. Most of the food is home-made by library members and volunteers.

Besides the usual breakfast food such as eggs, toast, coffee and ham, the tables are laden with scrumptious salads and mouth-watering cakes, pies and muffins of all kinds.

Chagnon Dairy of Waterloo is a very generous donor every year. The brunch is a fundraiser, with this year’s proceeds going towards the newly renovated children’s section. It is always held on the last Sunday of October. This year, It will be held at the parish hall of St-Bernardin Church in Waterloo on Sunday October 31st from 9:30 am to 1 pm. The cost is $8 for adults and $4 for children 6-12. Come enjoy yourselves and support a great cause.

The Waterloo Library reflects and serves its community just like CIDI radio. Isn’t it wonderful that we can continue to do such things in this day and age!

Being who we are is CIDI, lots of great shows, lots of wonderful hosts and terrific volunteers. Give us a listen, send us your comments and suggestions, we always want to hear from you all and play the stuff you want to hear.

For those of you who can’t pick us up on the radio go to our website and click on the live-streaming button. If you missed a show you can listen to it on the CIDI player or go to the show/host pages and listen to past programs.

Tanya Singfield is a Radio Communautaire Missisquoi volunteer. Tel: 450-242-9873 / 1-888-539-2098.

Responsibilities, responsibilities. It’s amazing how many we have. And, it’s surprising that some of us don’t seem to care. How often have we heard: “I guess I’ll get married, and if it doesn’t work out I can always get divorced”. Or, “I don’t feel like going to work today. I think I’ll call in sick”. Or “It’s good enough, who’s going to notice anyway if it isn’t perfect”?

What’s with the human species that makes us feel we can get away with things, believing we’re entitled to steal from each other? Okay, not all of us. But, one has to believe that even the righteous join in the pursuit of happiness, living out lives in controlled environments built by the not-so pure at heart.

When we have what seems to be order in our lives we tend to feel comfortable and turn the other cheek on vigilance, easily trading effort for relaxation. Letting our guard down is something that can’t be afforded in the animal kingdom.

However, on an individual level each one of us has to be aware of who we are. If we aren’t, someone will provide us with the answers, at our own expense. Of course, if we are too immersed in someone else’s idea of the “good life” we’ll never be able to understand what it is we really want for ourselves. Let’s face it, if we’re truly happy with ourselves, why then are so many of us unhappy? Maybe we don’t like our jobs.

Enjoying what we do for a living matters. At Radio Communautaire Missisquoi we want our employees and volunteers to be happy. A successful arts-development organization requires creative people to be working in an atmosphere of openness. It can’t afford to stifle ideas because of rigid thinking and create jobs with no opportunity.

It’s up to each one of us at RCM to understand what it is that we want out of the performing, broadcasting, and recording arts and sciences. We’ve all been attracted to some aspect of the multimedia arts community. It’s not about power trips, but about creative journeys into self-discovery. It’s about being confident and helping create a better life and community for everyone.

A creative life comes with responsibilities however, to oneself and each other. There is no way CIDI could ever be successful without its participants understanding that the community is behind them and that taxpayers’ money has been well-spent to realize the dream of community radio in Brome Missisquoi and Shefford. There is no turning back.

The opportunity is to help others realize who they are. To empower them with positive reinforcement. Communities thrive when they believe in themselves. What better way to get the job done than to play radio station? The sandbox is filled with production toys reaching out to anyone willing to express themselves. With over 75 volunteers, five employees and numerous advertisers CIDI has arrived. Now the responsibility is to nourish it and to turn it into a long-lasting pillar of the community.

Two weeks ago we wrote about losing our good friend Greg Hayes who died before his time at the age of 51. Now as the never-ending cycle of life continues, we are extremely happy to welcome our new little neighbour across the street, Lou, born just last Sunday. He is very fortunate to have wonderful caring parents, Steph and Jean, two sets of adoring grandparents, a beautiful house to live in and everything that a baby could possibly need or want, as well as super cool neighbours (namely us).

But what of his future, once he grows up? Once he leaves his safe haven will he meet nice and helpful friendly people? Will the environment still be green enough to sustain him? Or will he encounter selfish and nasty individuals who only think of themselves? Let us hope that with a great beginning, he will be well equipped to handle anything that comes his way. Once he opens his eyes may it all be good.

At CIDI we welcome comments and suggestions from one and all. We also need to have feedback from our listening audience in order to serve you better. Won’t you join us in our venture? Become a member, or come visit the station in Knowlton to see what’s going on. Do a show of your own, or be interviewed by one of our many hosts on their show and express your ideas.

For more information on how you can participate in RCM’s local Townships community radio station CIDI and its other multimedia projects, please call us at 450-242-9873 / 1-888-539-2098.

Maurice & Tanya Singfield are RCM volunteers.

Thanksgiving was upon us. Yet another year, another meal, another family gathering. But what is it that we are truly thankful for? Telemarketing, spam, global warming, recessions, high taxes, a minority government, the internet, reality TV, #1 goalie Carey Price, the demise of Tiger Woods, or could it possibly be our community?

The harvest is in and now it’s time to enjoy the fruits of our labours. Right? Let’s be thankful for who we are. I don’t know, maybe it’s time to reflect on why we have what we have. We can be thankful for being alive, but sooner or later we have to think about our quality of life. Are we really happy with what we have and by the way, who are we?

We, as a community, constantly buy into globalization as being the next big thing. Whether we realize it or not, we’re hooked and seemingly can’t let go. When there’s a grand opening in our area of a “Big Box” store we rush out and greet the creation with awe and great expectations. Back home we turn on the TV and maybe the radio hoping to be fulfilled by the next big thing. Usually an artist, show or product we can’t live without.

These are mostly things we have not created, but allowed into our lives at the expense of being who we are. We could argue that because we want these things we’re being who we are. The question is: why do we act like everyone else in the civilized world and buy the same products if we’re supposed to be unique? Why do some kids, who live in the Townships, “rap” and try to look like they’re from “the hood” (never mind the language)? Why does my food look the same as in the rest of North America?

Froot Loops equals fruit cakes, and I don’t mean desserts. Our county fairs and church suppers seem to be the only events showcasing local food as it used to be. Why pick your own berries and make your own jam when it takes less effort and money to buy a jar at the local globalized super-duper market?

Véronique Hamel, a Stop piano contestant.

What about our local artists? Why support them if they don’t sound like everybody else? I mean they can’t be any good if we don’t recognize their sound. Especially if the only sound we hear is what radio and television has to offer. No wonder all we care about is how well little Johnny and Jane clone Justin Timberlake and Celine Dion on TV “Star Search” shows. Who are we?

At Radio Communautaire Missisquoi we are pleased with what we have accomplished. At this time last year, CIDI was broadcasting with a fifty watt transmitter to the Town of Brome Lake. Now, we are speaking to a potential market of 25,000 listeners, a major increase from 5,000. This is part of what we have to be thankful for.

The other part is our community outreach programs such as the Stop! shows for rock artists and young pianists. The rock artists have to write their own songs if they want to be contestants and the piano students have to want to further their music education in order to participate. The winners of the Stop! rock show get a CD recorded of their original material and the winners of the piano competition win scholarship prize money to further their education. This is being who we are.

Yes, we have a lot to be thankful for, but it’s not always about what’s on commercial TV and radio and in the print media. Until we get to view, listen to and read about who WE really are I don’t think we can be truly thankful.

Being who we are is CIDI, lots of great shows, lots of wonderful hosts and terrific volunteers. Give us a listen at 99.1 FM or online at rcmmedia.org, send us your comments and suggestions, we always want to hear from you all and play the stuff you want to hear. If you missed a show you can listen to it on our website by going to the show/host pages and listen to past programs.

Maurice Singfield is a Radio Communautaire Missisquoi volunteer. Tel: 450-242-9873 / 1-888-539-2098.