At 6’7” Leon’s presence is immediately noticed when he enters a room. This is not only due to his tall stature, he has a warmth and magnetism that commands attention. Leon moved to Canada from Trinidad in the early 1970s. He lived in Edmonton and Yellowknife before settling in Yorkton in 1993, where he met his wife Bonnie. One of only a few people of colour in the small prairie town, Leon is full of stories about his past. Stories about growing up in Trinidad, his family, and leading the band at his church. Leon’s storytelling is captivating. He tells us he wants to write these stories down. He is particularly passionate about the strong women in his life, especially his and Bonnie’s mothers. We ask if there are any ways that we can support his writing. Can we give him homework? Check-ins? “When it comes, it comes. There is no forcing it,” Leon responds.
We leave Leon with a notebook and some pens. When we visit next, the notebook remains empty and there is no further talk of writing. We decide to shift gears and instead ask Leon about his music.
In 1976 Leon released an album of spirituals called The Harvest. Bonnie brings a copy on CD for us to listen to. On the album cover, Leon is sitting in a rolling prairie field surrounded by wheat. He is wearing an immaculately fitted suit and is lit by the warm glow of the late afternoon sun. As we listen to The Harvest, Leon begins to sing along. His strong voice is interspersed with side notes about what the band is doing. “The drums come in here,” “Now, wait for it – the backup singers – Bonnie – this is you now.”
We listen through the entire album. Leon pauses from time to time with his head in his hands. Tears begin to flow from his eyes, and ours. The emotion of these songs is palpable. We didn’t come expecting to film Leon singing, but Alana has her camera with her and is ready to capture this special moment.
Months later, we show the video to Leon. This time he has a new guitar, a gift from Bonnie, in hand. As he watches the video he starts to play along, strumming the guitar, singing, and laughing. He pauses between singing to tell us, “I think I can get serious with these songs now, I know them, I remember them, I remember what they are about.”
We get to know Bonnie better by visiting her at the couple’s home. Her family and matrilineal history are very important to her. Her grandmother immigrated to Canada from Austria in the early 1900s. Her Mother, who was born in Theodore, Saskatchewan, passed away the year before. Bonnie shows us photos of her mother, pieces of her clothing, her hand-woven Ukrainian sash, a recipe book, and a well-worn bible.
Bonnie also shows us a drawing her mother did from memory of the family farm. Her sister later did a painting of the farm based on her mother’s depiction of it. Bonnie later creates her own version, a collage using photographs of her mother visiting the site of the former farm. In the exhibition, we see all three versions of the same scene, as envisioned by three different artists.
“I really enjoyed watching him do… something that I never thought I would see Leon do.”
– Bonnie Jones
