On November 10, we’re dropping the first two episodes of Clock In – An ECAMP Podcast. It’s one of the last pieces of our year exploring labour history in Edmonton. And it was born from a song written by Jay Gilday: musician, postal worker, and host of the show.
Last year, I was listening to Jay Gilday play at the Varscona Theatre, dreaming about labour history project we could take on. He was mesmerizing up on stage with his guitar, held by a strap his mom beaded for him. Then he started telling a story about a song called “Shoes,” and it felt like serendipity.
Jay told the audience that he’d been delivering the mail for almost two decades, and it always seemed meaningful. Then one day he found out that his grandfather used to deliver mail too… by dogsled. Between the Northwest Territories and Yukon. Over the Rocky Mountains. The song captured how when Jay had a tough day bringing somebody their letters, thinking about his grandfather holding onto a dogsled for two weeks in -30°C made his job a little easier.
It brought me back to conversations I’d had with people who wanted to know more about their own parents and grandparents’ jobs, but never really had a chance to ask. What echoes could they find in their family histories? We pitched Jay on the idea of hosting a podcast to share these kinds of stories. It turned out he was on the same wavelength. He had a lot on his mind about the looming strike at the post office, how his day job and music career fed into each other, and family legacy.
What we’ve made is Clock In: a six-episode podcast mini-series. Each episode, host Jay Gilday helps people talk to their parents about the work they did when they were younger. Along the way, we learn how working life has changed in the city.
New episodes drop every Monday. You can follow for free on Apple Podcasts and Spotify (in the same ECAMP Podcast feed as always). You can also listen on YouTube.
Our researcher behind the scenes is Cathy Roy, and graphic design and artwork is by Mike Kendrick and ECAMP’s Raffaella Loro. And of course, Jay wrote the theme song!
Want to hear Jay play live? Join us on November 18th at Teddy’s Bar & Grill for the next ECAMP Trivia Night, where Jay will be co-hosting and bringing his guitar. In episode 3 of Clock In, we talk to Saniya Ghalehdar and her dad Nas about his time as an owner of Teddy’s.
– ECAMP Coordinator Chris Chang-Yen Phillips