Glen Duke book-signing and art show
By: Trea Jensen
Eastend was treated to a book launch from one of their own last Thursday evening at the Eastend Library. It was a packed house with
Fifty seven people who showed up to support Glen his first published book! Glen jokes that it really is just a pamphlet! His humble
and generous spirit are what he is known for, and the evening that was his to revel in museum. Just Fantastic!
It was obvious to everyone that Glen was touched by the support of the community and family as he read through passages of his book
Glen was supported by fellow riders of the great adventure during ‘Fred Williamson’s Last Horse Drive’ in 1958. After the reading
there was discussion and comments about the Horse Ride and the riders who were there talked about their experience also.
Talking to Glen’s brother Fred he told me he was 15 at the time, he was able to help for one day of the ride, do to his age, and that his
horse was not strong enough for the 7 day adventure, he was not able to go, this caused him great disappointment.
Glen’s reading of certain passages in his book was very entertaining, and brought out some chuckles from the audience. When
Glen talked about the halos around the
horses and the cowboy hats, during the
thunderstorm in the darkness, he was
very emotional . I had not heard of this
phenomenon with static electricity during
a thunderstorm before. Having an author
read from their book is a treat, and for those
of us who were there, can now read our
copies of his book, and hear his voice.
For those who don’t know, Glen Duke is also
a very prolific artist. His medium is acrylic
paint and portraits of family and friends.
These images have been his trademark.
Other paintings he has done are Hawks,
mountains, foxes, squirrels, lovely images of
landscapes around Eastend and surrounding
areas. Glen’s artwork was brought in to
showcase his talents as storyteller through
pen and through paint brush.
Glen’s work is in the A.G.E.S Gallery at the
Eastend Library for the month of June.
Glen Duke with some of his family
at the book signing.
Check out the whole family photo at
www.eastendecho.ca.
Tune In Next Week:
Contributer Trea Jensen will return
next week to tell us about the Bird
Watching event which happened
Sunday, May 20.
Travel Tips
by Alan Howard
Travel Tips - Unique Holidays & Locations
The ‘Windy City, Second City, Chi-Town, Hog butcher for the world, Tool maker, Stacker
of wheat, Player with railroads; Stormy, husky, brawling, City of the big shoulders, Queen
of the West and Garden City are a few of the names given to one of the United State’s
most unique and appealing cities.
If you are someone who likes remarkable and diverse music, theatre, food and
architecture then you must arrange a visit to Chicago. The music scene in the city is
remarkable; Chicago is a major centre for music in the USA. It hosts one of the best
operas companies in the world, “Lyric Opera of Chicago”, and a world renowned
symphony. It is noted for jazz and blues, since the days when King Oliver, Louis
Armstrong and Earl Hines made Bronzeville a jazz mecca. Add to this, a thriving folk
music scene, Hip Hop, and rock music and it is obvious you will be able to enjoy music for any taste. No matter what time of the
year, I have visited the city, there has been an array of concerts offered. One thing I have found is the tickets are very reasonably
priced and of course you can see up and coming artists in the night clubs for the price of a drink or two.
Complimenting the music scene is a robust theatre milieu. Chicago is home to over 200 theatre companies. This means no
matter when you visit you will be able to find something in the theatre scene for your tastes. Many of the Broadway and West End
productions either come to Chicago before they premiere in London or New York or after they have become hits. I find the prices
for tickets much lower than New York or Toronto, more on the level of London. This makes seeing a top production, in a decent
seat, about $80.00 not the $250-400 as charged in Toronto or New York.
Food and eating out provides one with a panorama of tastes and cultures. The cities unique ethnic neighborhoods mean
you can find authentic food to satisfy all cultural tastes. Of course one has to find a place which serves the famous Chicago hot
dogs or Chicago deep dish pizza. These places are easy to find and I would recommend Portillo’s found at 100 W. Ontario for not
only super hot dogs but for the atmosphere. There is also Hot Doug’s at 3324 North California Street. Both of these places see
totally loaded dogs starting at $2.00. One of my favorite places to have lunch or dinner is a little hole in the wall place called the
Paramount Room found at 415 Milwaukee Ave. It is frequented by Chicagoans who are looking for some of the best food in the
city. This place serves some of the greatest burgers I have ever tasted. In addition, the fries are so flavoursome you will not be
able to stop with one order. Add to this 40 plus draft beers and an extensive wine list and you have a place you will visit again and
again.
The architecture of Chicago is exceptional. You have a mixture of art deco skyscrapers alongside modern ones such as
the Sears Tower and the Hancock building (both worth visiting the lounges and observation decks on the top floor). The art deco
buildings have some of the most fascinating decorations both outside and inside you will see anyplace. This is all complimented
by iron bridges where in two miles, there are eighteen movable bridges. The Chicago River winds through the downtown twisting
and turning amongst the changing city skyscrapers. It is worth taking one of the many river cruises to get the full picture.
Finally, you cannot miss going to the fabulous Chicago beaches. There are 26 miles of open and free lake front beaches to explore.
A visit to Wrigley Field and the Chicago Zoo would round off you visit to the ‘windy city. Plus shopping on the Magnificent Mile,
home to all the major US stores and boutiques is a must for shoppers.
Accommodation in the city ranges from 5 star to budget. I would recommend watching for sales from the big chains,
especially in the fall and spring season. I have stayed at the Kimpton, Monaco hotel at around $150.00 per night.
You have a couple of options on how to travel to Chicago from Eastend. Of course, you can fly with direct from Calgary or one
stop from Regina. This will cost around $950 for two people. You can also fly from Billings and it will cost about $878 for two.
My recommendation would be to take the train from Havre. Amtrak has a daily service leaving Havre at 1:15 PM and arriving in
Chicago the next day at 3:55 PM. This is the Empire Builder which is one of Amtrak’s premiere trains. The cost of this is around
$1100.00 for two (no seat sale) which is first class (sleeper) and includes all your meals, wine tasting etc. In addition, parking is
free at the Havre train station and you arrive right in the centre of the city saving the $30.00 per person transportation from the
airport. No security and wonderful scenery is a bonus. You should be able to find much lower fares on Amtrak.com by watching
the specials and playing around with dates.
Each season has something different to offer when visiting Chicago. Of course it can be hot in the summer and cold in the
winter thus making spring and fall my favorite times to visit.