- by Becky Azzano

The Black Clawson Kennedy whistle; preserving a keynote sound in the acoustic community of Owen Sound.
In the 1940/1941 time period a steam ship whistle was installed at William Kennedy and Sons. It sounded multiple times throughout the day signaling critical times such as warning that a shift was ending soon or to mark the lunch break or the end of a shift. It was powered by steam and later by gas. It had a reputation for being exact and the general community as well as the factory workers referenced it as a marker of time in their day.
It is reported that the whistle was last heard in 1992. The company closed in 1997 and the factory was demolished. Today the land lies empty but on the other side of the street from this block of derelict property stands the Community Waterfront Heritage Centre. On June 26, 2002 the whistle sounded once again, this time from its new home, the roof top of the Heritage Centre. Three men were responsible for its resurrection: Norm Menary donated the whistle. Robert and Wayne King supplied the equipment and expertise for the installation.
For several years, I would hear the 5:00 p.m. sounding of the whistle, not knowing where it was coming from or anything about it. It became a reliable time signal and I found myself responding to its mark. When it came to selecting an object for a research project in my course "Advanced Methods in Heritage Research," I was motivated to pursue R. Murray Schafer's concept of soundscape and specifically the significance of sound marks and sound signals in identifying an acoustic community.
The whistle was a timekeeper for the workers as well as others in the community. I am undertaking research to illuminate what the whistle meant to all people when the factory whistle was in operation from 1941 until 1992 (both employees and those not working there but hearing the whistle), and inquire if it has value today and if so, what is its importance. I am very interested in hearing your comments which can be left anonymously, or named as you may choose. Here is the link to my website http://azzfam.wixsite.com/memoriesofthewhistle where you may leave your comments by selecting "Contact" from the horizontal menu.
I hope you will pay me a visit!