If you know me or happen to be in some of my classes at UWO, you are aware of my slightly unhealthy obsession with Road to Avonlea. I watched this show every Sunday with my mother and siblings since it first started in 1990 until it ended in 1996. I grew up with the King family and fell in love with Arthur Pettibone. My obsession was rekindled this past fall when A Channel began re-airing the show every Saturday at 7pm (I encourage you to watch, despite what I may say below).
There are many reasons why I enjoy the show: the hi jinx, the romance, the plot twists and turns (Gus Pike is dead! Gus Pike is alive!), the comedy, and the good feeling I get after finishing an episode. It also makes me feel nostalgic for a time that I never lived in. I am taking a Social Memory class this term and we talk a lot about nostalgia- what is it? How can we be nostalgic for a time and place we know barely anything about? If someone would have asked me last fall if I would like to live in the small village of Avonlea on Prince Edward Island, when Canada was on the cusp of the twentieth century, I'm sure I would have said yes. The show makes island life seem exciting and more simple. Then I experienced a power outage over the Christmas break.
I live in a drafty farm house, we depend on well water, which requires electricity and even when the hydro is on my bedroom barely reaches 15C in the winter. Nights without an electric blanket were almost unbearable if it weren't for the 7 blankets, 2 pairs of socks, flannel pj pants, 4 shirts (of varying sleeve length), and pair of gloves I was wearing. Then I realized how absolutely marvellous and majestic indoor plumbing was. I like taking a bath in a bathroom, not in the middle of the kitchen, like Alec King had to do in a recent episode of RTA, with elderly Aunt Eliza looking over his shoulder. I didn't even spend a full 24 hours in my new found "pioneerdom";
I went to the vacant apartment above my dad's office so I could delight in the luxury of warm, running water.So what originally made me nostalgic for early 20th century Canadian living? Well, it was brought up in class that nostalgia has this unique characteristic in that it allows you to transform it in your mind to fit your ideals and agenda. When I watched RTA I saw kids who ran around causing trouble, and were busy attending socials and parties. I ignored the fact that they had to use outhouses (get that rope ready for the winter so you don't lose yourself in the snow), perform manual farm labour without tractors, and only be able to attend school until the 8th grade.
But I have one question, as Public Historians of the 21st century, is it our responsibility to, so to speak, slap reality back into "history", "heritage", and "nostalgia", or is it better to let people believe that PEI in the early 20th century wasn't such a bad place to be (if you were a member of the upper middle class like the King family, and didn't have to go work in the cannery)?
*Photos courtesy of www.roadtoavonlea.com
Picture at top: Felicity King and Gus Pike
Bottom: A show down between Arthur Pettibone and Gus Pike- it's all so very romantic
2 comments:
Public Historians have a responsibility to fulfill the mandate of the institution at which they work. So do bank tellers and janitors.
There are no oaths or swearing ins for the public historian.
I don't mean that a Public Historian, once they are employed, so go about changing the institution they work in to reflect "accurate" history. But should they let people believe that living in Medieval England was the coolest thing ever because there were kings, queens, castles, and knights. Or should Public Historians in their everyday discussions with people, and in their writings, such as blogs like these, say, "Well Medieval England would be great if you could ignore the open sewage, rodents, and occasional plague."
And who says that Public Historians can't help to change the mandates of the institutions they work for? A lot of mandates could have been made 20, 30, 40 years ago and could be in need of updating.
But wouldn't it be cool if there were oaths and secret ceremonies. We could wear capes and funny hats.
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