Still Standing (2015) s01e06 Episode Script

1
"Oil Springs" - the
name I'm pretty wary
of the tap water right away.
(laughter)
Alright!
I'm thinking about going for it.
(laughter)
Mush!
I think the trick is to
get the story of Ontario
oil out there without
having the Americans invade.
When you grow up
in a small town in
Newfoundland, you see the
people have a sense of
humour about hard times.
Check Check
I turned that into a
career and hit the road.
MC: Mr. Jonny Harris!
Now I'm on a mission to
find the funny in places
you least expect it,
Canada's struggling small towns.
Towns that are against
the ropes but hanging in,
still laughing in the
face of adversity.
Welcome to Oil Springs, Ontario.
At the crude western
end of Ontario,
there's a small town
with a dark secret:
Oil Springs
Oil! In Ontario?
Who knew?
Well the guys down at
the local gas station,
that's who knew.
So fellas give me an idea of
what Oil Springs is all about.
This was the beginning of oil.
That where all world
trouble started, right here.
All world trouble
started in Oil Springs?
Pretty much.
- Oh yeah?
(laughter)
Ladies and gentlemen the
modern oil industry was
not born in Texas or
Southern California,
it was not born in
Saudi Arabia or Iran.
The modern oil industry was
born in Oil Springs, Ontario.
(applause)
So the town must've
been fairly wealthy.
There was a lot of wealth here.
There were about 4000 people.
There was eight or nine
hotels and bars,
several churches, a lot
of grocery stores.
Unfortunately the boom did
not last very long,
The boom sort of went from
the mid 1800s up until
just past the mid 1800s.
You know Petrolia
hit it big next door.
A lot of people
started moving there.
As people moved away.
Oil Springs boomed and
busted its way through
the next century or so,
leaving only a few
families with the last
trickle of black gold.
On main street today there's
an insurance company,
the Oil Heritage Church,
and well, this place
and a big screen TV store.
Normally I would never make
fun of a guy like Randy,
you know, a business
owner, man of his stature,
pillar of the community,
but today and
today only until closing.
So how long have
you been open here?
We've been open here since 1978.
It was busier back then?
Yeah one time there
was bread trucks and
coca-cola trucks Used to
have two or three grocery
stores at that time.
Why has there been this decline?
A lot of my friends have had
businesses here in town,
of course they've gotten
old and if their kids
didn't take it over, well
then they usually close up.
Yeah things have changed.
I grew up here and we
raised our children here
and I know there's huge
potential in small towns.
Randy and Diane one of
the great love stories
in Oil Springs.
How did you guys end
up teaming up for this?
I was his competition.
He showed up, he walked
in and he said
'hey I think I want to
marry this girl.'
Really?
Diane had a TV shop,
Randy was a repairman,
I'm assuming at some
point he serviced her.
(laughter)
I thought who was that?
And here they are,
they've been married for
thirty years, the marriage is
still under extended warranty.
(laughter)
Right across the
street, there is another
family business called
Cam-ron Insurance.
And how long has the
business been open?
A 118 years.
Is that right?
Was it always like sitting
around the dinner table.
A lot of conversations
around insurance yes.
Daddy can you please
tell us about actuary
tables and deductibles
again tonight?
(laughter)
Well just wait kids we
have to say grace first.
We'd like to thank the lord
for pre-existing conditions.
(laughter)
I've heard of worshipping
at the altar of oil,
but this
Now the new prayer is:
worship ye not false energy
sources, burn ye not coal
nor shall we build
wind turbines.
(laughter)
And while neighbouring
Petrolia has long
syphoned the region's
dollars and talent,
one new Oil Springer has
started putting down roots
who will touch up your roots.
Do you want
to have a seat? -Yeah.
I went out to visit
Lady Bea's hair salon -
(applause)
nothing unusual going on there.
So how much would
this cost me Lady Bea?
800 dollars.
800 dollars?
- Yes!
Just another Jamaican lady
who moved to Toronto to
Petrolia to Oil Springs to
create highly fashionable wigs.
I've had the idea
several times myself.
(laughter)
That's cheap, you go to hair
club it will be 1600 hundreds.
Are you serious?
I'm serious.
I'm thinking about going for it.
Lady Bea laughs
She met her lovely
fella Steve here
And they settled here in
Oil Springs because
they could buy a
larger house here.
There can't be a lot of
foot traffic for wigs here?
Not here, not here
in Oil Springs.
When I was in Petrolia
I was doing well.
They're the ones that's
supporting me now, still.
It's sort of a two way
thing for Lady Bea's
business cause on one hand
much more space but on the
other hand less people.
Like going to the moon.
It's sort of like
going to the moon.
How did you meet your husband?
Tell me that?
They were at church and
she went up to him
and touched his shaggy eyebrows.
Men like it when
women are saucy. -Really?
And that's when
they fell in love.
My bushy eyebrows yes.
When she touched my
eyebrows I thought
wow I better I can maybe go
and get my hair done there
once and we'll see how
it turns out right?
And it did turn out.
Out back I was shown why.
In Oil Springs they have a
chance to live off the land.
A little farm action
going on behind the house.
The tasty, tasty,
tasty, tasty, land.
This is a thanksgiving
rabbit, this is a big one.
We've got a couple goats.
The white goat that's curry.
The goat my friends
was named for his fate.
They also have a chicken
named stirfry
(laughter)
and when the rabbit tried
to get away Steve yelled
"get back here casserole."
(laughter)
And Lady Bea told you that
she's the world's best cook?
Is that right?
No she didn't tell me that.
Is that right?
This is the sort of
multicultural love you
could only ask for from a
Canadian bank commercial.
(laughter)
They're living off the
land in a new way,
but once you get off
mainsteet it's clear,
OIL still drives this town.
So is there still a lot
of oil money in the town?
There's a lot of wealth here.
It is just trickling into
way fewer hands than
back in the 1850s.
Charlie Fairbanks is
the 4th generation,
of the oldest producing oil
family in the world.
The godfather of Oil Springs.
He has a lot of
knowledge on the history.
He's kind of a oil guy right?
The Baron who bought
the land other's sold.
All the property that my
family owned have
been all sold to him.
He likes to do things
in the background
The Patron who sponsored
the museum.
To me he's become sort of
like the Wizard of Oz.
After all the myth and
mystery I finally got to
meet Charles Fairbank III.
(applause)
Charlie Fairbanks is
the 4th generation,
of the oldest producing
oil family in the world.
Charlie, the man,
the myth, the legend.
I was starting to picture
John Rockefeller or
Mr. Burns or some sort
of like evil tycoon type.
It's not me that's
remarkable it's this place.
My family has been pumping
oil longer than anybody
else in the world.
Well it's surprising that
it's still in the same place.
Most oil fields
last for 30 years
then they're pretty
much exhausted.
Does anybody know how
much is down there?
Yeah the Ministry of Natural
resources suggested just
before I got started that
we had like 60 percent
of it's still here.
Turns out that Charlie is a
really laid back, classy
oil man He's like JR Ewing
crossed with yoda.
(laughter)
This system has been beating 11
strokes a minute back to 1863.
It would be an atrocity
to change something that
works so well and
has for so long.
And it's not the only
thing done old fashioned
way around here
You got to keep the grass
short cause obviously you
can't have any grass fires
around the gear and just
to keep the machinery clear
These are Suffolk sheep
my father picked this
breed because black faces
and black legs are not
going to show the oil.
But the only thing is then
the sheep have started
getting deer ticks.
So Charlie now has
guinea hens who will eat
the deer ticks but now the
guinea hens and the sheep
started attracting coyotes
so he's got a couple
of llamas to fight
off the coyotes.
(laughter)
Gregory keeps them at bay.
He'll attack and kill
them if they don't skidaddle.
But now one of the llama's
keeps trying to mate with
one of the sheep.
So this is the naughty lama.
Oh We're not trying to
create a new species here?
(laughter)
Oh the oil industry.
(laughter)
And he's trying to
have Oil Springs
designated a Unesco
world heritage site.
He's trying to put Oil
Springs back on the map -
which is tough because the
last time Oil Springs was on
the map there was pictures of
sea serpents in the ocean.
(laughter)
Ok we're going
down the road here.
What's all this stuff over here?
These are oil wells
going up and down.
I went and had a visit
with Phil Morningstar
And Murray Watson.
I get away from the
wife seven days a week.
Phil was bragging to me
How do you manage that?
Just tell her I got
something to do today.
What's the machine called?
We call them a jerker.
Now the terminology.
(laughter)
Jerker line.
Check out that gusher.
The men invented the
oil industry but the
terminology was invented
by a horny teenager.
(laughter)
I guess all they want
to do Murray here is
just drive by it.
But the contraption here?
That's the way you pump a well
for the last hundred years.
You know I always
understood from my buddies
in Newfoundland that went
to Alberta that rough
necking is very difficult.
But I was watching a team
out in the field for two
or three hours and I
started to think to myself
it doesn't look too
difficult, then I realized
I was looking at one of
Murray Watson's sculptures.
(laughter)
Oh look at this.
How do you make them?
Just start welding,
cutting and welding.
Murray's family owned
the machine shop in town
since the 1880's but
now he does this.
Are these legendary
local characters or
did you know em?
Yep. I knew em.
Oh yeah?
Those fellas are real?
Yep they're real.
Murray's got more
sculptures out working in
the field than there's
actually people out
working in the field.
But you know everybody got
old and died off and the
young people didn't
want it I guess.
Why isn't the next
generation getting into it?
There's not enough
money into it.
Not enough money!
I guess unless you're
Charlie Fairbanks,
the party's over, just
like this one was when
Phil's wife called.
on phone
What time is it? Yes dear.
He said he goes to the
drive shed to get away
from the missus.
I don't know if he gets
away or if he's sent away.
(laughter)
No we're just heading
back to shop right now dear.
I went to ask his wife
about it but the
door was locked but the
door was locked and
Phil's dinner was laid
out on the step.
(laughter)
thanks for having me.
The story of Oil Springs
is not well known,
it's a story that's
got to get out there.
It's worth telling and I
think the trick is to get
the story of Ontario Oil out
there without having
the Americans invade.
(laughter)
One family captures the
essence of Oil Springs;
generations caught between
a romance of country life,
and the draw of the
outside world.
Ladies and gentlemen Larry
Towell is a world
renowned photographer.
(applause)
Well, as a photojournalist
I'm interested in conflict
and conflict resolution.
I've photographed the
conflicts of Central America
El Salvador, Afghanistan
He does a lot of
photography at home.
He has a wife and four kids
so let's just say war zones.
(laughter)
However I don't
really like traveling.
I'm always looking for
something to do locally.
I could be in Toronto,
I could be in New York,
I could be in Paris.
But that's not really
where my heart is.
We're both kind of
nostalgic people,
You look at tree lined roads.
There's nothing more magical
than a tree lined road with
gnarled trees, you know?
Anne Towell is a
writer, she wrote a book
about the trees in
their frontyard.
They don't have cable folks.
(laughter)
I got to meet the
boys Noah and Issac.
They're great kids they
told me a lot about
what it's like to live out here.
It was excruciatingly boring.
I don't know, personally for me.
Trick or treating is
a bit rough out here,
every twelve kilometers
you get a fresh cucumber.
(laughter)
Ya I gotta you know get out
of the small community.
I'm not a small
town kind of guy.
Isaac I think is a
little bit anxious to
I caught him trying to hide in
my luggage is what happened.
But Noah wants to stay.
Deer, hawks, you know
eagles, everything.
I like living in this area.
I like the town I'm in.
Noah enjoys his work even though
Charlie Fairbanks gives the
boys the toughest jobs.
Basically Charlie won't
throw in the towel
until he's thrown in
the Towells.
(laughter)
I went out to visit
the Quinlan family.
Release the hounds!
Hey pup.
Jason and Jennifer told
me that they wanted
to live out here in the country.
The main reason why we
chose to live out in the
country is just
cause it is quiet.
Four kids and forty
howling sled dogs,
yeah that's a whole lot
of peace and quiet
going on right there.
The amount of deer
tracks, and coyote tracks
and everything, the kids
it's been great for them
to get the opportunity to
learn about the outdoors.
To be out, to be able to
do family things outside
Was that something that
was important for you
guys when you had kids?
Definitely.
We didn't really want
to raise them in the
city or a small town.
So is the whole thing
like a money maker?
Or is it just a hobby?
If you ask me,
it's a money maker,
if you ask Jen it's
costing a fortune.
It's a hobby,
an expensive hobby.
Then we went for a race
on the atv's.
Alright I was thinking we
need to brainstorm some
ways to give us a
competitive edge.
Come here jump over.
Come one.
Get in your spot.
Would anybody notice if
we had two extra dogs?
Yes.
What if we give him a 5 hour
energy drink?
In dog years 5 hours would be
like a day and a half.
He goes over here? -yeah
If we don't think they can hear
us, can we start the engine?
Just helps the dogs along
a little bit.
Make it easier on them.
Is that allowed?
No, that's cheating.
Cheating is a strong word,
but ok ok.
You guys ready?
You guys good to go?
Okay let's go.
Ready guys?
One, two, three, mush.
Hike, hike!
Let's go boys, let's go!
We didn't cheat
and we still won!
I didn't even know
that was a possiblity.
Country life really can
change you.
We won, we won!
And at least you guys
got your priorities
straight right.
Oil Springs has a liquor
store, large screen TVs
and a golf course, Oil
Springs is the world's
largest man cave I think.
(laughter)
Most of the people that golf
here are coming from where?
Dresden, Wallaceburg,
Sarnia, Petrolia.
We don't have real
population right close to
us so I got to draw
from quite a ways away.
Yeah, well that's the thing.
Randy's figured out a way
to make money on the land
rather then under it.
Which is more green.
And has many greens.
My dream when I was
younger was to build
this when I'm done work.
I went to visit Randy
at the golf course so
that's not TV Randy,
that's golf Randy.
(laughter)
there was really nothing here,
A lot of maple trees you see.
I planted all these trees
from just a little wip, right?
Look at the trees now.
Randy's been working on this
place for 30 years
after work. And now it's
his retirement project.
This is my dream.
My wife may have a
different story so.
You any good?
I'm about a 12 handicap.
And I get it why
people love golf so much.
Ok Jonny you're up.
Lets see if you can put
it on the green from here.
Uh Mercy!
It was a lovely day and
just you know the soft
plop of all my balls
landing in the creek.
It was just
That was a nice swing.
You got a little bit
of everything there.
You got the water,
you got the green.
Ya.
That majestic view
of my sand wedge
helicoptering out of
sight as it sails
over the trees.
(laughter)
but I'm terrible.
I'm an awful golfer like
my handicap is so high
that well I can park
wherever I want.
(laughter)
Alright!
It was huge for little
old Oil Springs to have a
golf course. Growing up my
kids always wanted to go
someplace else like Petrolia,
everything was
in Petrolia right.
School was there,
hockey was there,
baseball was there.
It's funny, they're all coming
back to live in Oil Springs
And they are coming back.
Now that is a beautiful shot.
There we go!
Sure it's a trickle
more than a gusher.
But maybe, just maybe
Oil Springs fortunes
are on the upswing.
Randy man this is a
laugh, you're going to
spend the whole
summer doing this.
When I'm not out
here cutting the grass
I'll be swinging the clubs.
Brilliant retirement plan.
Today, before I left the
hotel my mom called me
and she said you know
Jonathan how's it
going in Oil Springs?
I said oh it's pretty good,
I got a tow from some sled dogs,
highlights from a Jamaican
lady and had several long
conversations with
people who turned out
to be sheet metal.
She said what are
you talking about?
I said mom I'm talking
about Oil Springs, Ontario.
Thanks so much everybody.
(applause)
He got it.
- He got Oil Springs
- Yeah
Jonny, come to the salon and
I'll give you some corn rows.
Kinda touching base on
all the great things
about Oil Springs.
It was awesome.
He didn't quite get
the whole in one
but he was awful close.
We don't have to make
fun of ourselves anymore.
We haven't had this much
excitement in Oil Springs
in a long, long time.
Yes he can come back
anytime he wants.
And there's beer in the fridge.
It was absolutely wonderful.
Great he done a great job.
We are at the corner every
morning for coffee
Small is beautiful and you
guys made this place big.
And still beautiful.