GORE BAY—From belly laughs and poems about the people and characters, pets, the strange things animals will do, the weather, and of course farming, to telling the extremely sad story touching on suicide, Vernon Bailey, along with the music provided on guitar by John McClenaghan, held a large crowd spellbound in the Gore Bay Community Hall on April 27.
“It was awesome,” stated Sandy Cook of Kagawong. “Mr. Bailey is very talented, and Mr. McClenaghan on guitar was excellent. What an ability Mr. Bailey has. Storytelling and poetry are such a lost art. So polished.”
“This was such a great thing for the (Gore Bay) Rotary Club to do, they are so supportive of the community,” Ms. Cook added. “We thought it was a great show and a great night of entertainment.
Tim Mackinlay, of Silver Water said, “The whole evening reminded me of fond memories of listening to Stuart McLean on the Vinyl Café as we were driving home on a Sunday afternoon. My wife and I were very fond of the Stuart McLean series.”
It was billed as a night of song and poetry, and it most definitely was. Mr. Bailey told The Expositor, “I have been writing poetry for a long time.” He grew up on a farm near Thessalon, and is a cattle farmer by trade, and is an auctioneer as well. He also writes periodically for a paper about life on the farm and love of the land.
He also reads poetry and performs live theatre. His first was focused on the poems of Robert Service called ‘Call of the Wild.’ His second, ‘Life on the Farm,’ features many poems by Charlie Smith, whose wife Rhonda is originally from Manitoulin.
“In 2018 I did a show of Robert Service poetry,” Mr. Bailey said. “That led me to the works of Charlie Smith, so we put together this second show, ‘Life on the Farm,’” said Mr. Bailey. “We also have put together a third show that we will be doing called ‘Sublime to the Ridiculous.’”
“When the Rotary Club asked me to do a show for a fundraiser I said sure,” said Mr. Bailey. He pointed out about 70 percent of the poems and stories shared on the stage were written by Mr. Smith.
After each poem or story, Mr. McClenaghan would provide a song that matched the topic that Mr. Bailey had presented. Songs included ‘Four Strong Winds,’ and musicians like Gordon Lighfoot, Louis Armstrong, Garth Brooks and many others.
“On behalf of the Gore Bay Rotary Club I would like to welcome you to a night of stories, poetry and song and to also thank you for your continued support,” said Rotarian Jack Clark in introducing Mr. Bailey and Mr. McClenaghan. “Proceeds from this and other fundraisers go to things like a new fire suit for the local firefighter, support to the Manitoulin Secondary School robotics team, helping families in need and a lot of other worthwhile projects.”
“Vernon has done countless shows all over the country, all in support of local community groups like ours and has helped those groups raise tens of thousands of dollars,” said Mr. Clark. “Again, we welcome all of you to a night of storytelling, sadly an art that is getting lost in the fastpaced life we find ourselves in.”
