Recently Rita MacNeil passed away and I could not help but feel sad with her passing. May be it’s because of my maritime heritage and the fact that she, like me, was born in Nova Scotia. I cannot sing like she could and nor would I try. Nonetheless, I know many of the words to one of her biggest hits Flying On Your Own. It’s like when I think of her my mind starts playing this song. Of course there was more to her life than just this one song.
You might be wondering how this relates to Guelph. Recently I have been working on the Guelph Tribune photograph collection. Basically I have been trying to separate the negatives from the prints as they were housed together when the library acquired the material. During this process I chanced upon a photograph of Rita MacNeil. I immediately recognized her. She was photographed at Chapters signing her book On a Personal Note. What a great way to remember her with her visit to the Royal City. She will be missed.
Guelph: Then and Now 