Forgotten John Lennon interview inspires C.B. kids

The recording was taken over the phone, while John Lennon was holding his famous bed-in in Montreal. (Canadian Press)

 

People in the Cape Breton community of New Waterford have caught Beatlemania after uncovering a little-known recording of John Lennon from a local radio station.
The recording is of a news report from 1969 which contains highlights from an interview with Lennon after the famous Beatle called the station.
“There’s no alternative, peace is the only answer,” Lennon said from a Montreal hotel room during his famous bed-in.
The reporter was Jack Columbus. His widow, Sharon, found the tape shortly after her husband died. She released it to the town as part of New Waterford’s centennial celebrations.

Children inspired

The tape is being used as inspiration for an art exhibit at one of the town’s schools.
“I think he would be very pleased that it would be used in education to fire the students up, and give them a little motivation to look into something that happened so long ago,” Sharon Columbus said.
Mount Carmel Art Teacher Dianne Lewis says since discovering the tape, they have been playing Beatles music and researching the peace movement for this exhibit.
“They really bought into the simplicity of that message," she said of her students.
The grade six class drew pictures, made peace signs and recreated objects from the Montreal hotel room.
“There’s a lot of places around the world where they don’t have peace,” said 12-year-old Michael Grechuck. “They should have peace. It would just make the world a better place.”

Source: http://www.cbc.ca