Canadian National Exhibition Blog

Sharole started with Conklin Shows in the early 1940s working in game concessions and later operated food. Sharole travelled on the Conklin Shows train in Western Canada to B and C circuit fairs and at the conclusion of the western tour would return to Ontario and the Canadian National Exhibition.

In the 1950s, Sharole was promoted to be the manager of the Conko Ice Cream Waffles stand, which was located at the east end of the Grandstand and remained at that location until 1999 when the Stadium was demolished. Sharole managed a very popular and huge operation with sometimes 30 staff working in the stand making fresh waffles or scooping ice cream. Over the years, the Conko Waffle stand became a Toronto landmark and I could only guess at the number of fresh made ice cream waffles came out of that stand.   

In the early 1990s Sharole, very quietly, decided to call it a day and hung up her white apron for the last time.

On Labour Day, we closed the show and I was coming back from Kiddieland around 2:00 am when I passed the Conko Ice Cream Waffles stand where Sharole and her staff had finished cleaning and packing up the waffle irons for the year. There was Sharole closing the awning by herself and once everything was closed and locked up I followed her to car to see her drive off the Canadian National Exhibition grounds for the last time as an employee. After over 45 seasons and millions of waffles that was it – it was over – no fan fare, standing ovation or teary goodbyes. I stood there pondering for a few minutes with almost an empty feeling inside – for that was the end of an era and piece of history at the CNE.

At the conclusion of the Canadian National Exhibition, we at North American Midway pack up our chattels and make our way for the US border to Fairs in Lewiston, New York and Springfield, Mass. Alas, the end of our Canadian Tour.

In 2008, the day after Labour Day, I’m busy with tidying up some business affairs with the management of the CNE and packing up my office. It turns out we are a bit short on drivers and they ask if I could take a load on a one and a half hour drive to Lewiston, which I agree to. To begin with I’m to take the Funnel Cake, but once I’m finished putting away the last of my office items things have changed and I’m now going to drive the Shoot Out the Star game.

I’m a bit tired but the trip goes fast and soon I’m at the Queenston-Lewiston Bridge in the commercial US Customs line. I arrive at the inspection station and the customs and immigration officer reviews our customs papers and asks us to pull over into the inspection area. In the inspection area we head into the customs building and wait forever for someone else to take a look at our papers and what we are bringing into the United States. After almost four hours, a new customs person comes out and says that they need a special Homeland Security inspector from Buffalo to come out in the morning to look at our load before we can leave.

So we get a hotel in Niagara Falls, New York and wake very early in the morning to again wait for the Special Inspector to arrive. Again we wait another three hours when the special Homeland Security inspector arrives and we lead him out to the truck and load. He pokes around the truck and trailer for a while and tells us we can head on our way. We go back inside to get our papers stamped and another customs inspector clears us to go and we ask why our load was detained. The Shoot Out the Star game involves machine guns that fire buckshot at a paper target and our “in-house” customs person put on the clearing papers that we were transporting “Machine Guns.” Homeland Security certainly does not like the words “Machine Guns” and that was what caused our delay.

North American Midway (formerly Conklin Shows) rewards their employees daily for excellence in customer service, appearance and attitude. These employees that are chosen by senior management are rewarded with cash, a letter of congratulations and a pin.

At the conclusion of each city that we play, we have the Grand Prize winner’s ceremony that salutes the best employees of the show in each of four categories: rides, games, food and administration.

At the conclusion of the Canadian National Exhibition in the late 1990s, we had a Grand Prize winner from the Bumble Bees ride in Kiddieland. This winner had come from Regina and travelled with us to the CNE. The Grand Prize consisted of a knapsack, a pin and $1,200.00 in cash.

We called each of the four winners and came around to the person on the Bumble Bees. Once his name was called, he bounced up to the presentation area excited as hell. When we handed him the $1,200.00 in cold hard cash, his eyes almost popped out of his head.

Following the presentation the Bumble Bee, now feeling like the richest person in the world, immediately went to his bunk house, packed up his stuff and left, never to be seen again.

In 1986 we did a promotion with Becker’s Food Stores. If you purchased any product you received a coupon for any Conklin Shows ride at the Canadian National Exhibition. The deal was “Buy one ride, get the second ride free.” I was called to Guest Relations to assist a customer where a customer asked: “So let me get this deal straight – if I purchase the Tilt A Whirl I get the Scrambler for free, and how much are you asking for the Tilt A Whirl?”

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We had an incident of minor consequence due to rider error on the ever famous Enterprise Ride. Must have been a slow news week for the Toronto Sun reported the story in the newspaper the following day. We received a call into our offices by a disgruntled patron asking: “What type of Enterprise are you people running any how?”

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One of our long time and very funny employees “Doc Godin” was selling all day ride bracelets in front of the Giant Wheel ticket booths on a very busy last Sunday. He was barking out to the crowd: “Pay one price bracelets and Air Show, get your bracelets here.” The barking surely put some smiles on some of the peoples’ faces with regards to the Air Show. A customer came up and purchased a bracelet and asked where she could see the Air Show. Doc replied: “You can look up now.” The lady responded very seriously: “I’m so sorry I’ve been looking up all afternoon – I will know better next year.”

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Our food staff is trained to ask the customer after they make their purchase if they would like at drink with their order. One customer’s reply was: “No thanks, I have a drinking problem.”

I am asked what it feels like to fly a Spitfire by pilots and non-pilots at every air show. This WW2 aircraft is of great value to the community, now serving as an important flying memorial, allowing millions of people to learn the history of the most significant conflict the world has ever known. Veterans of WW2 often appear at air shows, affording the last opportunities to fill in the blanks of untold stories and remind us all what incredible sacrifices past generations made to allow us our current day freedoms.

Flying the Spitfire for the first flight was a surprise. Seventy year old technology suggests steam gauges, big levers, rickety designs and poor flying characteristics. What I found was that this aircraft is possibly stronger, tighter, more efficient and better harmonized in its controls than any modern aircraft. The genius of the design is immediately evident when the aircraft leaves the ground. The cockpit workload is as low as any primary trainer. The control stick is light, responsive, with micrometer precision. The engine is smooth from idle to full power. And does it ever move! From a standing start, it could beat a business jet around the patch. This is a machine with a singular purpose: to give a 19 year old pilot the physical extension of his thought to stop the enemy. The Spitfire does this with a grace absent in most other designs. The passion evoked while displaying this aircraft and the challenge in keeping such a memorial relevant in today’s high tech world makes each air show an opportunity that cannot be missed.

Dr. Rick Volker
Pilot
rvairshows.com
2009 (return) CIAS Performer

CNE GM David Bednar onstage with President Bill Clinton

The big day has come and gone, and what a big day it was.  Once again, the CNE staff pulled off a difficult event and made it look relatively easy.  For me personally, it was very big deal to get to meet President Clinton in person.  I had a major case of butterflies in my stomach because I was to introduce him, stay on stage through his speech, and then ask him the questions for the second part of the program.  My anxiety reached its peak just before he walked into the building; once I actually met him and we began to talk, it felt as if a weight had come off my shoulders.  He is a genuine and engaging person with a remarkable ability to stay in the moment, so I was able to relax and move to the stage confident that the program would be a success.  The audience displayed considerable warmth and a clear affection for him.  They were terrific.  They applauded frequently and stood at least twice to give him a standing ovation.  I looked down to the first few rows to see my family there to cheer me: my grandson and his parents, my wife, my brother (who travelled with his friend from Austin, Texas, for the event), and my step-daughters.  A few rows back sat the CNEA board and other friends.  From the stage, the panoramic view of all the rest of the audience stretching to the top of the far stands was inspiring.
 
The day was not without its challenges.  President Clinton’s attendance at the funeral for Senator Kennedy might have required a delay. In the end it did not, but it made some of us nervous nonetheless.  The line-ups for last minute tickets were lengthy and still in place as the President was about to take the stage.  A difficult decision had to be made to refuse entry at that point to those who had not purchased tickets in advance and some were upset about being kept out.  I suspect they would have been more disappointed to have stood in line, bought a ticket, and then enter the stadium only to hear the last, or none, of the President’s remarks.
 
We will be analysing this part of the 2009 CNE for some time to come.  As we do with all aspects of the fair, the management team will go back over the evidence to try to see how it could be done better, what worked, what did not, etc.  Regardless, I believe that this speech was a very good thing for the CNE and tourism to Toronto, and I am extremely grateful to be working with such a dedicated team of professionals.

During my early years with the carnival and Conklin Shows, they had me drive a truck and trailer between locations. I made my first trip from Edmonton Klondike Days to Regina Buffalo Days in 1977. I thought I was helping out, but little did I know that when I actually pulled onto the midway in Regina and made the trip without incident that I would become labelled a “truck driver.” I spent the next 14 years behind the wheel between locations – most of those years in a Ford Straight Job (known as fleet number 848) – with the Star Dart game trailer in tow.

On my way to the Canadian National Exhibition in 1983 from Regina Buffalo Days, I round the corner in Thunder Bay to find the weight station open, so I wheel in Ole 848 across the scale and at the conclusion of the weighting the light flashes indicating that I am to report to the office. I pull over the truck and proceed to the office with the necessary papers in hand.

Inside Mr. Head Inspector does not seem like he is having a very good day and sends me with another Inspector to check the mechanical condition of Ole 848. About a half hour later we return and I pass the mechanic inspection. Mr. Head Inspector now asks for the insurance, registration and my licence, which I readily provide. He examines my documents and looks up at me with that glaring look of disdain and says: “Son, this licence is no good for this truck and trailer; you need a Class 3 licence to drive a load with this gross vehicle weight.” I had been driving in Ontario for seven years and provided my licence to inspectors numerous times and never before had I come across this issue. I ask Mr. Head Inspector what I have to do to keep rolling down the road – he replies: “Well, Son, as long as I’m at this scale and you have that licence, that truck is not going to leave this lot.” Bewildered, I ask if I can take the truck, but leave the trailer and he agrees.

I head into town and stop at the gas station to ask where the drivers’ examination board is. I get the directions and head on over. Inside the examination place I register to write my Class 3 Ontario Driver’s Licence. I wait about an hour and write the written test and wait another half hour to find out that I passed. Next the woman behind the counter tells me that I need a medical and I ask her to direct me to the medical clinic. I drive Ole 848 over to the medical clinic and the whole medical process takes over two hours. With my medical in hand, I head back to the driver examination place.

Next the lady behind the counter tells me that now I need to do my driving test and the next opening is in a week and a half. Again, I’m bewildered. I sit in the waiting area trying to figure out what I’m going to do next. Again, I approach the lady behind the counter and ask if she has a cancellation today if I could take that spot. She says that I can take the spot but assures me that she rarely has a cancellation. So now I’m hanging around the check-in counter like a bad smell and finally a Class 1 driver comes in for his examination. I butt in and ask the would-be driver if he would take a $100.00 and come back in a week and a half to do his test. The guy’s eyes pop out of his head looking at the $100.00 and we have a deal.
   
I say to the lady behind the counter: “We have a cancellation here; can I take his spot?” She can’t believe it and slots me in to do the driving test.

I meet the examiner at Old 848 and we do the truck inspection, then we drive around town for a bit. Then he has me drive up and down the highway for a while and back to the examination center where we turn some corners and back up for a short period. I pull back into the parking space and he asks me to wait in the waiting room back in the office, not telling me if I passed or failed.
 
I wait anxiously for about another half hour until my name is called when I approach the same lady behind the counter. She opens her folder and hands me a new licence, with my name, address, date of birth and most important under Class was the number 3. She has me sign the licence and sends me on my way.

I head back out to the scale and inside the office is Mr. Head Inspector. I approach the counter and open my wallet to present my shiny new Class 3 driver’s licence. Mr. Head Inspector is stunned. I ask if I may leave now and he gives me the still stunned look and nods yes.

Little over six hours and $208.00 later, I’m back in Ole 848 heading out of Thunder Bay on my way to the Canadian National Exhibition.

The CNE has a lot to boast about: an incredible midway and a great lineup of concerts and shows. There is another thing the CNE can brag about, something that goes unnoticed by many, and that is a commitment to the education and improvement of the environment. Not many people are aware that the CNE has a goal of 80% waste diversion for 2010 (and currently sits above 70%), or that the Press Building, which houses the administration of the fair, uses a Geothermal heating and cooling system. The Green Zone is our way of showing people not only what the CNE has been practicing for the past few years, but also highlighting other environmental initiatives available to the public.

This year’s development was a little more difficult with having to move from the Music Building to the Direct Energy Centre, resulting in a lot less space, and some disappointed groups wishing to bring exhibits. The pros, however, outweigh the cons in the exposure that our environmental initiatives are going to get being in such a high traffic area. Nearly every person that comes on the grounds will go through the Direct Energy Centre and if we can get even 10% of those people interested then we have done our job. While the Green Zone isn’t considered by many to be the “highlight” of their time at the EX, we hope that maybe this year we can make an impression, something that will get fair goers thinking as they return home for the evening. Or at least get the kids excited that they made birdfeeders.

Brittany Graul
CNE Green Zone Coordinator

Records and Archives recently received a grant of $4,265 from the Heritage Policy Branch of the Department of Canadian Heritage through the Audio-Visual Preservation Trust of Canada, for the digitization of 28,200 feet of 1/4-inch reel-to-reel audio tapes of Grandstand stage shows from 1952 to 1968. During this time period, the CNE Grandstand presented evening variety shows featuring an array of Canadian and American singers, dancers and comedians. The nightly Grandstand stage shows usually attracted capacity crowds of 33,135.  Therefore, over the course of each 21-day season, approximately half a million people would have watched the stage show at the Grandstand. Highlights captured on the recently digitized tapes include musical performances by Howard Cable and the CNE Symphony, Bob Hope, Danny Kaye, Robert Goulet, Lorne Greene, Percy Faith, Art Linkletter, Teresa Stratus, Billy Van and the Smothers Brothers. The digitization was done by Richard L. Hess, audio tape restoration specialist, Aurora, Ontario. Due to copyright restrictions, the digitized files are only available for reference in the archives. However, a listening station will also be set up by the Archives during the 2009 Canadian National Exhibition to allow visitors to enjoy short audio samples of the digitized tapes.

Staff of the Archives would like to acknowledge and thank the Heritage Policy Branch of the Department of Canadian Heritage through the Audio-Visual Preservation Trust of Canada for their generous support.

Linda Cobon
Manager, Records and Archives

I remember back in February I was performing at the Ontario Police College in Aylmer. There was a horrendous snowstorm that night and it made driving a real pain and took forever. My colleague, master hypnotist, Craig Tutton, turned to me and said: “You realize the Ex will be here before you know it…”

He was right. I am astounded at how fast 2009 is going, and the CNE is always the marker that tells me the summer, and indeed the year, are winding down fast. Once the Ex hits, it’s Labour Day, Thanksgiving, Halloween, and then Christmas, all in rapid order. But before that happens, we have the CNE to enjoy, in all its glory. Yesterday I made a quick trip down to the grounds to check out the cool new stage I’ve been given. It has a huge canopy to keep my hypnosis volunteers (and me) in the shade, which will be awesome if it gets as hot as it did last year. On my way out, I stood by the fountain, not far from the Press Building and remembered standing there with my Mom when I was five years old, holding a yellow hula-hoop she’d just bought for me. And decades later, I’m still attending the Ex; but now as a performer. And I’m ready for it. I’ve been working out for 6 weeks to keep my energy high, and writing new material to add to the old favourites. The phone has been ringing and the emails are coming in asking if I’m going to be back again. Onstage in less than 24 hours…

See you there.