THERE'S SOMETHING ABOUT SUDBURY

The Super Stack - Sudbury's most famous large erection.

I come from a town known mostly for its large erections.

Most famously, Sudbury's iconic Superstack stands at a lofty 1,250 feet, and is the largest chimney in the Western hemisphere. It is estimated it would require at least 500 top notch Dickensian chimney sweeps to properly clean it. 

Sudbury's other large erection is the Big Nickel which stands 30 feet high and is listed in the Guinness World Records as the largest coin in the world. No small change there.

Almost as famous as its large erections, Sudbury is also known for its black rocks and bleak lunar landscape. In the 1970's NASA conducted some experiments here about meteorite impacts, which turned out to be a waste of time since some years later it was proven that the impact 1.8 billion years ago, was actually the result of a collision with a comet, not a meteorite. Oh, the IRONy.


Shortly after the public humiliation of being known as "Bleak Town" Sudbury started a regreening effort that continues to this day. A fair amount of Sudburians have been directly involved in this effort via summer employment through the City of Sudbury's tree planting program - myself included.

The re-greening has helped establish Sudbury as a popular tourist destination, but I have to wonder if the price we have to pay for this privilege is too high.

When asked if I approve of Sudbury as a bona fide tourist hot spot, I lie and say "Yes" because this is just one of the pitfalls of being a tourist centre. It forces you to lie, or at the very least, stretch the truth somewhat.

If the truth is known I preferred it when the city was ugly. It gave Sudburians a heartfelt desire to leave because the grass was literally greener on the other side. Now that Sudbury is just as green as the other side, everyone wants to stay put which makes it more difficult to find decent employment in the area.

Furthermore, being a bona fide tourist centre is extremely time-consuming. Now, when a tourist asks us what there is to do in town we must sub-categorize everything into arts, culture, entertainment, or attractions.

This is a far cry from the old days when we could just tell people to go to the slag heap, which constituted our arts, culture, entertainment and attractions.

I'm not complaining. Really! I guess I'm just a little sentimental about ugly old uncomplicated Sudbury. But despite all its changes, there's something about Sudbury that always brings me back.

Could it be the large erections?

Recommended Listening: You're So Vain by Carly Simon

Recommended Reading: The Big Nickel: The Untold Story by Jim and Ted Szilva

Recommended Viewing: Big