Stompin' Tom Connors
We think no more of Inco on a Sudbury Saturday Night.
A statue of Stompin’ Tom Connors stands in front of the Sudbury Community Arena. As far as I know, this is the only statue of a famous Canadian in Sudbury.
This was a wise choice.
Unlike Egerton Ryerson, Prime Minister John A. McDonald, Winston Churchill or Queen Victoria, no one holds a grudge against Stompin’ Tom.
The statue should be safe.
Stompin’ Tom was noted for stomping on a piece of plywood with his left foot when he was performing.
The artist who created Tom’s statue made the “plywood” a relief map of Canada. From the west coast on the left to the east coast to the right, Stompin’ Tom stands tall on top of all of Canada.
Sudbury and the mining communities of Northern Ontario have a prominent place on this map, sitting above Toronto’s Skydome and the CN Tower.
This is fitting because Tom Connors started his career in northern Ontario.
To the right and rear of Stompin’ Tom’s statue is a spot under an everygreen where it looks like someone is sleeping rough. I hope that Tom, who also had it rough for a long time, is giving some comfort to this person.
Sudbury connection
In 1968, Mr. Connors composed and sang a radio jingle for a Sudbury-area tire store, Duhamel & Dewar, in exchange for a set of winter tires:
"When your tires are old and worn
and you think they should be newer,
drive on down to the Tire Town
and see Duhamel and Dewar.”
Sudbury Saturday Night
Well the girls are out to bingo and the boys are gettin stinko
We think no more of Inco on a Sudbury Saturday Night
The glasses they will tinkle while our eyes begin to twinkle
And we think no more of Inco on a Sudbury Saturday Night
With Irish Jim O'Connell there & Scotty Jack McDonald
There's hunky Frederic Herzal gettin tight but dats alright
There's happy German trixie there with Frenchie gettin tipsy
And even Joe the gypsy knows its Saturday tonight
Ya well Marianne and Mabel come to join us at the table,
And tell us how the bingo went tonight we'll lookout right
That if they won the money we'll be laughin up the honey boys
'Cause everything is funny for its Saturday tonight
We'll drink the loot we borrowed and recuperate tomorrow
'Cause everything is wonderful tonite-we had a good fight
We ate the deli pickle and we forgot about the nickel
And everybody's tickled for its Saturday tonight
The songs that we'll be singin They might be wrong but they'll be ringin
And now the lights of town are shinin bright-and we're all
Right-We'll get to work on Monday-but tomorrow's only Sun.
And we're out to have a fun day for its Saturday tonight