Once a month, Jack and Kim Campbell organize interesting presentations in the parish hall of St. Mary Magdalene in Schomberg. The events are sponsored by a small United Church congregation, who rent the building from the Anglicans, for these evenings as well as for their own Sunday services. Two congregations, two styles, one roof — and they get along well.
The landlords: St. Mary Magdalene in Schomberg and Christ Church in Kettleby form the Anglican Parish of Lloydtown. Their priest is Rev. Gregory Fiennes-Clinton, known in the parish as “Father Greg.” Lloydtown, according to Wikipedia, is the site of the Rebellion of 1837, said to have been carried by reformers around Jesse Lloyd.
Jack sent me a footnote afterwards — the best kind. Lloydtown was indeed one of the places where the Upper Canada Rebellion of 1837 was organized, with Jesse Lloyd, the village founder, as one of its leaders. The complaint: a small, closed circle called the Family Compact held the political, economic and judicial power. The rebels lost. Lloyd fled south and died in exile. The idea stayed. Lord Durham’s report followed, and in 1848 responsible government. A country that took a few wrong turns, then learned to settle such arguments in parliament. Even a Swiss, with a referendum for everything, can respect that.
Well now — John and I, invited into a stronghold of rebellion? How exciting is that? Mind you, the rebels of back then aren’t available anymore, I’ll guess blindly. But the people in the hall were alive and kicking. And wide-awake with interest.
Jack and Kim asked whether I’d have a conversation in front of the Schomberg audience about my journey from Swiss to Canadian. Anyone who knows me probably knows that at words like conversation and communication, I’d never shake my head no. John and I decided on an interview instead of a lecture. John asks, I answer. John was also the man keeping strict control of the schedule. Because rambling on is one of my beloved hobbies.
At eleven in the morning, the first visitors surfaced in the hall. John, Jack, and I inspected the site of the interview attempt — screen, projector, and a large visible clock — this we deemed the essential infrastructure.
And what was talked about? John asks me the first question. Well, as a grateful Swiss-Canadian and a great believer in serendipity, I spoke of my journey from Basel to Newmarket. “The Swiss Who Came to Stay” was the title of the invitation.
One word runs through my stories like a red thread through a sweater: serendipity. My dear friend Theresa taught me the term and explained it. Naturally, I spoke about the city that held me under its wing for sixty years. Basel is a bordering border city, with France and Germany as the great neighbours. Growing up in Basel, a city with borders that felt open, shaped me deeply. As a child, I learned early that borders can be mostly passage points, not limits.
After regular school came the school of life, and the music business. Future, career-wise? Either a record shop or a stationery store. Mont Blanc pens and fine paper still enchant me. In 1980 I travelled to Canada to find vinyl LP suppliers, and stumbled upon Don, co-founder of Records on Wheels. My first supplier in North America. A friendship with Don began — but the customer stuck around too.
Of course I also spoke about my deep business fall into the bottomless. The falling itself wasn’t the worst part — the human disappointments left marks. Extremely welcome marks.
In 2016 I immigrated — no, flew — into Toronto. And out of Switzerland. Christian the tourist became SwissChris, the permanent resident of the nation of Canada. Tourist yesterday, tomorrow a staffer for Leah, the MP in Ottawa.
Again and again my gaze drifted across the faces before me in the audience. That was the truly fascinating part of yesterday in Schomberg. Faces following my words, without me having to threaten these kind people in the least.
Naturally — since SwissChris talks — I had to speak about my life’s project: CANARTA lives by the line Young Arts Deserve A Story. And my late sister Esther got her place too: with her, I founded the Fairy Trail Walk for Esther, long before I knew how much I’d need it.
Whoever offers a story doesn’t get lost.
When John and I discussed the event beforehand, we prioritized the topics. Because we had one hour available — measured with something close to Swiss precision. And lo and behold, my other favourite topic didn’t get short shrift either. What is it about hippie philosophy that has made my life more positive? My years of learning and wandering made clear to me that community and friendship can outshine any status. Borders, I tend to see as invitations.
46 years ago I arrived as a customer, then as a tourist. I became the neighbour and found friends. The Swiss who came to stay — that’s the essence of serendipity.
Oh yes, John and I kept to the full sixty minutes. There was room too for a good number of questions from the audience. Very good questions. What stayed with me: those audience questions, showing just how much community lives inside a parish hall in Schomberg.
The people of Schomberg, the fine lunch included — they gave me more than I brought with me.
Thank you, Schomberg.
