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www.insideHALTON.com · OAKVILLE BEAVER Wednesday, November 16, 2011 · 22 Artscene More to Conn Smythe than just hockey, book shows By Dominik Kurek OAKVILLE BEAVER STAFF As owner and face of the Toronto Maple Leafs, Conn Smythe led the boys in blue to 11 Stanley Cup titles from the 1930s to the '60s. But there is so much more to the late Canadian icon who built the Maple Leaf Gardens, but so little of it has been printed. That's why Oakville's Kelly McParland set out to do just that, and recently published his first book, titled The Lives of Conn Smythe. "I wanted it to be more than just a book about hockey," McParland said. "I wanted it to be a biography of the man because he was involved in so many other things than just hockey." The book tells of such things as Smythe's life as a prominent Toronto businessman, his life in hockey and his service on the front lines of both the First and Second World Wars. "He created this hockey dynasty, but outside of that ­ and why I found him so interesting ­ he was so much more than that. He fought in both World Wars. In the first war, he was in every famous battle you ever heard of: Ypres, Somme, Passchendaele. He was shot down, spent a year in prison camp, and escaped," McParland, a National Post t editor, said. "In the second war, we were like 45 years old, had a family of four, owned the most popular team in the country and insisted on going to Europe again and insisted on a combat position. It just seemed to me he had more than one life." McParland, a Leafs fan himself, "He created this hockey dynasty, but outside of that ­ and why I found him so interesting ­ he was so much more than that. He fought in both World Wars." Kelly McParland, author The Lives of Conn Smythe MICHAEL IVANIN / OAKVILLE BEAVER THE LEGEND: Oakville's Kelly McParland is showing there was more to the Toronto Maple Leafs legend Conn Smythe than just hockey in his debut book, The Lives of Conn Smythe. got the idea to write the book when he realized little was written about the man after whom the NHL playoffs MVP award is named. Before his death in 1980, Smythe cowrote an autobiography with writer Scott Young but there is not much else on him. "I was really interested and wanted to read more but found out nobody has ever written a biography on him. The more I got into it, the more I learned about him, the more I became fascinated I got," McParland said. "I've been a fan since I was five years old, and I thought ­ like any Leafs fan ­ that I know everything about the team. Basically, I didn't know anything before Harold Ballard, anything from about 1960. Before that, it was all news to me." Researching the hockey icon was not difficult. When he quit the Leafs organization in 1966, Smythe took his records with him. "He took 30 years worth of files, his personal files, business files, all the Leaf stuff with him," McParland said. "When he died, it was donated to Archives of Ontario. It's all sitting up there ... massive amounts of files that you can go through, his personal letters, his war records, stuff from when he was just starting the Leafs." Furthermore, some of his family members and Leafs players from his later years, are still around and have been helpful as well. Being born poor to Irish immigrant parents, Smythe's story is of a self-made man. "He started with nothing and he built this all himself," McParland said. "His main source of income wasn't the Toronto Maple Leafs. Everyone thinks that's how he got rich. It wasn't a hobby, but it was a sideline. His main business involved sand and gravel. He had a huge pit on Jane Street, right on Eglinton." McParland became hooked to Smythe's story because the Canadian icon ended up contributing greatly to the country. "It's a biography of a fascinating Canadian, a great patriot. He loved his country and contributed enormously to it and also happened to start the Toronto Maple Leafs." McParland added that the history of the country is greatly intertwined with the history of hockey. "The development of the country's character and the maturity of the country took place in parallel with how hockey developed," McParland said. "(Smythe) loved his country and loved hockey and he married the two together and you can learn a lot about the country itself through knowledge of the history of hockey and how it developed." The book was published by FENN/McClelland & Stewart. The book is available at Chapters bookstores. Dominik Kurek can be followed on Twitter at @Dominik Kurek. Music and food event returns to Halton museum Halton Region Museum is bringing back its popular Hearthside event for the museum's ongoing 50th anniversary celebrations. The evening of live music and hot food will take place on Saturday, Nov. 26. The event is hosted by the Halton Museum Foundation, the museum's independent fundraising arm. The night will include performances by the Vickie van Dyke Trio, James Brown, and the Chris Platt Assemblage. Van Dyke has won the Canadian Smooth Jazz Broadcaster of the Year award in 2005 as host of the former Wave 94.7. She's also a musician with a smooth jazz style who performs a variety, from bossa nova to standards, to pop jazz and smooth groove. Brown has appeared with the Toronto Symphony Orchestra, Toronto Philharmonia and Sound Streams Canada. He teaches guitar and jazz improvisation. The Assemblage consists of top students at Mohawk College and performs original compositions and old standards. Platt performs on the guitar. The evening will begin at 6 p.m. with a scotch tasting by the fireplace in the Loft Room of the museum, followed by a buffet with foods of the world in the Hearth Room. The museum is located in Kelso Conservation Area in Milton. Tickets cost $75 and will not be available at the door. For tickets, call 905-875-2200, ext. 27. Black Magic art show Artist Karin Lynn Cumming wants to argue there is still magic after retirement. To show it, she is hosting her second annual art exhibit called Black Magic at Creating Space Yoga, which runs Nov. 18-20. The contemporary abstract artist trusts in her intuition when making art. In describing her process, she said she builds layers, then destroys, scratches back and uses a variety of tools until the image "magically" appears and feels complete. There will be an opening reception on Friday, Nov. 18 from 6-8:30 p.m. The art will be viewable also on Saturday (1-5 p.m.) and Sunday (11 a.m.-3 p.m.). The studio is located at 594 Chartwell Rd.