Generosity Beyond Measure in Thunder Bay
Fire barrels and a feast. Behold the grassroots.
read Part 1 of this series here: Fireworks & Applause previous installment: Kenora to Dryden
At 6 pm Wednesday, January 26th, the Freedom Convoy begins settling in for the night near Thunder Bay, Ontario. They’ve been offered the use of large, adjacent lots on private property on the outskirts of town. Snow plows have been busy, and the chatter on the trucker radio is steady:
Go by the cop shop, about 300 yards, and turn left…When you get to the cement truck you hang a left there in that big open area they’ve got plowed out…
…We’re getting everybody backing up into the snowbank on either side and then we’ll figure out what we’re gonna do down the middle…
…When this parking lot fills up we’re gonna use the racetrack…
As they pull in, Sally breathes a sigh of relief at the sight of three outdoor toilets. Soon, Ted is lifting the hood of the truck and replacing a lost windshield wiper. There’s talk of a shuttle bus, bath towels, and off-site showers.
Woodsmoke from a fire barrel scents the air. A food tent has been erected, equipped with barbecues and generators. There are stacks of pizzas. Pans of food covered in foil. A box of beautiful brown eggs.
Banquet tables are covered with flats of donuts and trays of prepared sushi. There are condiments, cases of bottled water, and soda pop. A sign says “Welcome trucks.” Another says “Go truckers, go!” A third talks about the vaxxed and the unvaxxed standing together against mandated medicine.
No planning committee met regularly for months. No one spent weeks drumming up donations in kind. This is what happens when a protest movement has deep support. Countless individuals step forward. They use their own money. They figure out ways to help. Behold the grassroots.
What happened in Thunder Bay that magical evening was a preview of what was about to happen in downtown Ottawa.
All images are from the Thunder Bay parking lot. They are screen captures from video taken by Sally (not her real name), 26 January 2022.
next installment: Truck Convoy in Progress read Part 1 of this series here: Fireworks & Applause
I just love that you are capturing these moments, thank you Donna!
Wow again! The effort made by the truckers (those outdoor toilets don’t sound very cosy in Thunder Bay in January!) and the efforts made by people welcoming them is simply astounding! Also astounding is how JP managed to silence all of this. I no longer listen to any mainstream news. I have lost all confidence.