Southwold Township history comes alive again this spring with a collection of one-act plays and original songs presented at the Keystone Complex in Shedden.
Entitled Snapshots, the production focuses on the Second World War and the RCAF Bombing and Gunnery School near Fingal.
Written by Len Cuthbert, one of the plays mirrors the philosophy of long-time area resident Lorne Spicer, one of the founders of the Rosy Rhubarb Festival, a member of the Elgin Stewardship Council and the St. Thomas Field Naturalists.
He served overseas during the Second World War with the RCAF as a navigator and believed life is the train, not the station.
April 1 of this year marks 100 years of service for the Royal Canadian Air Force as a distinct military element.
Fingal was the home of RCAF No. 4 Bombing and Gunnery School and Snapshots honours not only the facility, but also some of the area residents.
While the Second World War brought some people together, it sent Franklin and Helen in opposite directions, one to the other side of the country, and one to the other side of the world.
On October 30, 1941 American Airlines Flight 1 lost its struggle to remain airborne, hurtling into a field at Lawrence Station in Southwold Township.
Twenty died in what was Elgin county’s worst disaster.
The crash was the subject of a production last year in Shedden by Cuthbert entitled Lawrence Station: The Crash of American Airlines Flagship Erie which is incorporated into Snapshots.
Snapshots is a presentation of the Southwold History and War Veterans Memorial committees, April 19 and 20 at the Keystone Complex in Shedden.
Tickets are available at the Southwold Township office in Fingal and for more information and online tickets, visit http://OnStageLive.ca
