Stompin’ Tom Connors

If all goes well, sometime this year, a tribute to one of Saint John’s most famous residents will be unveiled.

Stompin’ Tom Connors, the man behind Canadian classics like “Bud the Spud,” “The Hockey Song” and “Sudbury Saturday Night,” was born in the Port City Feb. 9, 1936.

But other than a portrait on Canterbury Street in the city’s uptown, one among a handful of other famous residents like Donald Sutherland and Louis B. Mayer, there isn’t much to let people know a Canadian musical legend spent his early years in Saint John.

Now, a group of four Saint Johners are working to put a statue of Stompin’ Tom somewhere in the city.

“The idea of honouring Tom in this city … has been a conversation that’s been going on for years,” said Greg Hemmings.

Hemmings mentioned the portrait as a nice tribute.

“But Sudbury, Ont., has a massive bronze statue of Tom,” Hemmings said. “And, yes, Tom spent time in Sudbury, but he wasn’t born there.

“Skinner’s Pond in P.E.I. takes claim of the hometown of Stompin’ Tom. And that’s fine because he did live there for a little bit before he ran away from home and started his life on the road.

“He was born here.”

Hemmings said the difficult childhood Connors had growing up in Saint John – a single mother, a stint in an orphanage because his mother had to be jailed for stealing food to survive – certainly influenced his later work.

“It’s interesting that so much good came out of the man as far as shaping Canadian identity through his songs,” Hemmings said. “And so much of that was informed by his early ages, living in this blue-collar, hard-working, lower income city when he was young.”

At some point, Hemmings said he had a chat with his buddy Scott Gogan, a local musician.

“He knows I’m involved with different community events and he was like, ‘Why don’t we have a statue of Stompin’ Tom on the waterfront?’ and I was like, I don’t know,” Hemmings said.

Hemmings said he suggested speaking to someone at City Hall and see what the next steps might be.

Eventually, Mike Bravener got involved in the project.

Bravener is a musician in New Brunswick, perhaps best-known for his Elvis Presley impersonation.

But he also shared a similar upbringing to Stompin’ Tom, Hemmings said.

“It’s a very similar story, lived kind of a lower-income experience in the south end, brought up by a single mother,” Hemmings said.

And Bravener has a Stompin’ Tom tribute show. Hemmings said Bravener dresses up like Connors and plays his songs.

Bravener hosted a birthday party for Stompin’ Tom on Feb. 9, what would have been the musician’s 90th birthday.

Hemmings said he went to Fredericton for the festivities, along with Gogan and Hemmings’ friend Jason MacLean.

“We realized how special Tom is to New Brunswickers,” Hemmings said. “People showed up. We had birthday cake, sang ‘Happy Birthday.'”

He said MacLean is a big Stompin’ Tom fan, and during a concert at what was then Harbour Station, the man himself pointed MacLean out in the audience, asked him to stand and proclaimed MacLean one of the biggest Stompin’ Tom fans in Canada.

“So Jason had to be part of this,” Hemmings said.

The four got together and asked the question: What can we do to make this work?

“The first step is getting the blessing from (Saint John) Common Council,” Hemmings said.

On Feb. 23, the four attended what ultimately became a virtual council meeting because of a snowstorm.

A short presentation followed, the highlight of which was a tribute song to Stompin’ Tom performed by Bravener.

Mayor Donna Reardon said the group had everyone associated with the City excited about the project.

“Everything is happening already,” she said.

Coun. Joanna Killen said she was sobbing during Bravener’s performance.

“I don’t think the world needed a song like that more than they do right now,” Killen said. “The world is hard and Stompin’ Tom is still here, through you.”

Councillors voted on a motion that common council support the project in principle, and refer to the civic commemoration standing committee for guidance, and that the city work with Hemmings’ company, Hemmings House, to determine a location for a statue.

They voted unanimously in favour of this tribute.

The next step will be to raise funds for what Hemmings said is currently planned as a bronze statue.

“We’re not sold completely on bronze, but we just know it’s going to last forever,” Hemmings said. “It could be wood, it could be another material, it could be much more affordable than what we’re thinking it’s going to be, depending on the material.”

He said the plan will be to raise enough money to make sure there’s a fund to keep the statue in top condition for years to come.

A location is still to be determined, though Hemmings said he had several ideas, including anywhere along the Harbour Passage, somewhere near Market Square, or possibly on the site of the Barbour’s General Store at the base of King Street.

“There’s so many great places where it could go,” he said.

For now, the planning will continue in order to honour a major piece of Saint John’s history.

“It’s time to really celebrate the Canadians that really helped bring us together as a nation and Stompin’ Tom is one of those folks,” Hemmings said.

“Not only to honour him, but to inspire our community and inspire a new generation of artists and citizens in general who care about our country.”