I've been looking for footage for years so I could write about Telerama.
If you were a disabled person who grew up in Edmonton or Northern Alberta between 1975 and 1990...
...you tended to look forward to Telerama just as much as Christmas.
At least I did.
Before Family Day, it was the event that broke up the midwinter blahs in Alberta.
Showbiz with a cause!
And definitely for me (and a bunch of us I think), Telerama was our first clue that there was a world out there beyond our houses and schoolmates we saw every day.
I remember watching my first Telerama in 1977.
And wondering how Bob from Sesame Street got to Edmonton.
I didn't know about planes then I guess.
But seriously, the first Teleramas helped build the ACT (Associated Canadian Travellers) Centre in Rundle Park.
And the very nice indoor pool that was built at Camp Health Hope and Happiness in 1984.
Also any number of specialized vans and buses used to transport the disabled around Edmonton to programs and activities.
And the telecasts always ran from 9PM on a Saturday to 5PM on Sunday.
And there always seemed to be a great can-do spirit among Edmonton's local sports and entertainment celebrities.
I mean, Kompany! is shown performing a high-energy show at 6AM! That's dedication!
And the occasional celebrity flown in to keep the pledges coming in, such as the aforementioned Bob McGrath.
And who can forget Another World heartthrob Stephen Schnetzer, Cass Winthrop himself! He was willing to pitch in and help in with a musical number or whatever needed doing for "the disabled children of Northern Alberta".
Even if it was exhorting the folks at home to "RING THOSE PHONES!"
If you were a regular Telerama watcher, that particular phrase was kind of tattooed on your DNA in those years.
And if you weren't, then it wasn't. You played Atari or Intellivision.
I know people who would do that.
But I'm sure that particular phrase helped with the pledges.
So you may be wondering, if Telerama had this winning formula, why isn't it around anymore?
I'm just offering my off-the-cuff opinion here.
But I think it just got too expensive to put on.
That rousing singing of "Can't Smile Without You" at the start and end of every show? Barry Manilow was paid for that
And I must mention Crosby, a guy who was the local on-camera spokesman for many years. I happened to know him through school at the Glenrose, and he was always very personable and cool.
But the fact is also that no matter how committed Bob or Stephen were to the cause...
...they and all the other flown-in celebrities were well paid for their efforts.
And the year that the main theme used at the top of every hour was from the Broadway play The Music Man?
I bet that cost a pile of dough.
And even though Alberta may have been considered a "have" province back in the '70s and '80s, I think charity fatigue may have started to set in by the time things started to wind down for Telerama in 1990.
At this point I would like to thank everyone for donating and contributing to the telethon, and the projects it supported, over the sixteen years it was in existence.
Your generosity was - and still is - appreciated.
But I have to say that it was a little unsettling when the Telerama organizers seemed to take a page from the Jerry Lewis Labor Day Telethon...
...and give the impression that every disabled man, woman and child in Northern Alberta was sad and downtrodden.
It is true that being disabled was and is no picnic.
But it is also true that most of us had parents who tried to make us see past our disabilities.
Most of us were also involved in programs like swimming and track and field.
A lot of which was funded directly or indirectly by Telerama.
So again, thank you to all.
Thank you so very much,
Honestly, with all those activities plus school, there wasn't a lot of time to mope.
So if you saw any disabled person on camera or in the audience looking very serious, it may have been anything from rapt appreciation for the variety-style entertainment to a once-yearly case of sleep deprivation.
I remember the 1985 show, when I was on the show twice on Sunday.
The first time was presenting a cheque to 1984 's Miss Canada Cynthia Kereluk, on behalf of St. Gabe's Elementary, my school at the time.
That was supposed to take place midmorning. But I was there 6:30ish, because Dad was working a shift on the phones.
At about 7:15, the person scheduled to go on had to respond to the call of nature.
So on I went in their place.
I answered Ms, Kereluk's three questions (who I was, what school I was from, and how much the cheque was for).
And other than hearing myself on a seven-second delay on every TV speaker in the general area of the room, it went great.
And I spent the rest of the day in the audience.
Which went great, as we were entertained by people like Mr. McGrath, Bobby Curtola, and Ronnie Prophet.
And at about 4:00 or so, a guy with a headset asked four of us if we'd like to be on camera during a song by Broadway star Carol Lawrence.
We looked at each other for a minute and agreed.
So we were arranged into a circle, told that the camera would move to each of us for a closeup...and oh yes, please don't laugh when we were on camera.
We all made it through, looking appropriately serious, due to the fact that we knew we were being sung to by a bona fide Broadway talent, even without the Internet to verify.
(And yes, due to more than a little sleep deprivation).
I am not 100% certain what the song Miss Lawrence sang us was, but You'll Never Walk Alone seems to stick out in my mind.
That would certainly fit.
Most of us had parents, walkers, or parallel bars supporting us when we attempted to walk.
And that was Telerama...big-hearted showbiz in Northern Alberta folks.
From roughly 1975 to 1990.
Thanks again to everyone who contributed and participated.
One year, Dad even let Jacquie and I call in pledges.
Oh the memories!
Here's the song that opened and closed the show from 1978 onward:
I want to take a minute to also acknowledge the respected Edmonton jazz musician Bobby Cairns. I never knew or met him, but Mr. Cairns was responsible for the wonderful musical orchestrations on Telerama, bringing decades of experience which started for him at the age of 15 in the Tommy Banks band, as well as many years touring, recording, and teaching. His musical arrangements were a huge part of what made Telerama so memorable. Rest in peace Mr. Cairns.
I had the honour and privilege of knowing him for over 30 years.
And for all of that time, he retained the smile pictured above.
His favorite saying?
"Hello, Sunshine!"
And he truly meant it,
Don was always truly happy to see you.
It didn't matter if you were a good friend of his, or if he knew you slightly.
The smile was always the same.
If you were having a down day, just a smile or hello from Don would improve it instantly.
I know quite a few of my days were brightened and improved just by knowing him.
I first met Don around 1991 at a meeting of the Cerebral Palsy support group.
He was always a positive and energetic presence at those meetings, as well as the dinner and bowling nights the organization would put on.
Later on, Don and I wound up living in the same assisted living facility, and we would often get together at one another's places to watch movies or listen to music.
And I remember a few Grey Cups and Super Bowls at his place with Pepsi from the building machine, and pizza from 73.
And when I ran movies in the building, Don was the usher and was always happy to look after the lights.
And on those occasions when he and I would go for coffee at either West Edmonton Mall or Westmount Mall, I watched him bring smiles to complete strangers, simply by saying hello.
The same thing happened when we would occasionally go see his favorite oldies bands such as Gerry and the Pacemakers and Herman's Hermits.
And we certainly had fun watching The Fab Fourever, an outstanding Beatles tribute band from Vancouver, in 2014.
We were absolutely blown away by their recreations of the Beatles music and eras, and by the hospitality of the guys, who happily agreed to pose for the above picture after the show.
I used to sometimes joke with Don that I was jealous of him because he saw Beatlemania firsthand.
Paul McCartney once said in an interview that he was proud to be in a band that thought the thoughts and felt the feelings that led to songs like All You Need Is Love.
And I have to say that I am proud to have known a guy like Don Matheson, who not only really liked that particular song, but lived its ideals for his entire life.
I'll miss you bud.
Thank you for being my friend.
And for helping me see the positive in life when I needed it.
He worked in the Oilers dressing room, starting in the same year as the Stanley Cup dynasty.
And Joey kept that position, as well as well as a similar one with the Edmonton Football Team, for over three decades.
And it always seemed to me, even in the mid-80s when I was in my teen years and just starting to figure out how to manage life with challenges, that he never let his own challenges get in the way of doing the work that he loved.
Or enjoying his life to the absolute fullest.
He had one very good (and perhaps best) friend.
Who just happened to be the best hockey player in the world.
And he had support from his large and loving family.
And Joey's teammates and coworkers from Edmonton's two most storied teams had his back too.
Joey was definitely a part of the Oilers story, and the Football Team's story.
The city of Edmonton's story, really.
All it took, according to reports, was dedicated work that he loved, a hug and a high five, usually shared with teammates, whether after a win or a loss.
Throughout his career, Joey was honoured by both teams.
The NHL honoured him with its "Seventh Man" award.
The Alberta Sports Hall Of Fame celebrated him as well.
The Winnifred Stewart Association, which assisted him in living his life fully despite his Down's Syndrome challenges, named all their Edmonton group homes "Joey's Homes".
How did all this goodwill and good fortune come to Joey?
Simply by being himself.
I can tell you that as a teenager in the mid-80s, there was a lesson for me there.
And that as an almost middle-aged adult now, the lesson is there still.
There is also hope.
For all of us, whatever our challenges.
If we are able to recognize our gifts, and use them.
Rest in peace Joey.
Thank you for being an inspiration.
You did good.
Wherever you may be, I hope you are joyfully belting out our anthem with Mr. Paul Lorieau.
OK fellow DATS users. I know a lot of us have spent a large part of our lives being told what to do. Or what to think. I would never do that with this survey, because I hate it when people do that to me. But this could bring about change with stats.https://t.co/lZbQfwrvaHI want to thank each and every one of the 47 people who took the time to read my DATS Gotta Change! post. And to the 11 people who have taken the survey so far, I appreciate you as well!Advances in technology such as the Internet, instant messaging etc. have made it much, much easier to connect over issues that affect us all. And with the breakneck pace that daily life now operates at, it can be easy to get lost in the shuffle.I noticed at the council meeting I attended in the fall that many people lobby for the City Council's attention, time, and purse strings. Requests for rec centre funding or construction and concessions for the hotel industry and small businesses were all a part of the session I attended.And the one thing that everyone had to bolster their presentations?Stats and numbers.Now you may think that answering questions about how many years you have been taking DATS, or what age range you fall into, or even the time you spend on hold, may not matter much.But the truth is, it really does matter.A whole lot.Because the numbers make it easier to convince the city, Mayor Don Iveson, or someone in his office, that we have a legitimate issue. Thousands of able-bodied people get around on ETS every day, with nary a glitch.Why not the disabled on DATS, which is a specialized para-transit service?DATS did get funding in December.Where did it go?These are questions that deserve to be answered.But we need numbers and stats.So that our concerns and issues can be heard.Your Partner In Life
