Original subtitles

He flipped the car over 7 times.

He though to himself

"Man, I gotta get my daughter into this"

[Laughing].

Chris, you're not the stereotypical farmer

- Most people see me and they think

I'm growing weed or something.

[Laughing].

Buxton, Ontario is the happy ending to the most

shameful era of American history.

[Applause].

When you grow up in a small town in

Newfoundland, you see that people have a

sense of humour about hard times.

Check, check.

I turned that into a career, and hit the road.

Mr. John Harris!

Now I'm on a mission to find the funny

in the places you least expect it -

Canada's struggling small towns.

Towns that are against the ropes,

but hanging in there,

and still laughing in the face of adversity.

Welcome to Buxton Ontario!

[Sings]"I'm travellin' on to clear blue heaven"

Buxton Ontario, it's a place unlike any

I've ever visited.

It's not a - a community that was built

upon an industry, it was built upon an ideal.

The slaves, 150 years ago, who risked everything

to make it to Canada.

Who risked their lives, risked unspeakable

punishments, and they could only hope and pray

that it would prove to be a better place for

their children, and their children's children.

And the amazing thing is - It worked.

[Applause].

Just this side of the U.S. border,

we have Buxton Ontario,

land of the true North, strong and free.

Keyword free, but don't forget North.

A Canadian winter is a bit of a kick in the nuts, right?

[Laughing].

Then suddenly you got a- a - a former slave in

Ontario in January lookin' at the snow for

the first time.

He's thinkin' "My God, all that cotton,

and what I really need is some wool".

[Laughing].

Oh, thank you for laughing at that joke - [Laughing].

This is not the easiest gig for a comedian,

right - [Laughing].

Who's gonna go to Buxton and talk to the people

about the - the sensitive issues of

history and slavery and their ancestry.

Oh I know, send the pasty Newfoundlander

with the weird hair - [Laughing].

He commands respect - [Laughing].

I knew the best way to get the story on Buxton would

be to go talk to the Prince family.

How's it goin' guys?

Good! How are you?

Hop on in here.

Now I should specify which Princes I guess,

because Buxton has more Princes than Disneyland, but -

[Laughing].

Hey, small town, lots of relatives.

Alright, Jonny.

In fact, I decided to share a funny thing

that came up in my research material.

Everyone in North Buxton seems related somehow,

but not in a creepy way.

[Laughing and Applause]

Like many Buxtonians, they're direct descendants

from slaves who came here for freedom,

and built a community.

So how is Buxton doing these days?

Well, it certainly a village that's um - changing.

A lot of the older people who spent their

lives here have passed on, and not much business

for the young people to stay around.

Growing up here was - it was activity just

about daily because we had two stores.

We - there was a post office, a mill,

gas station, a garage, you know, so it was a -

a happenin' place.

Now more happened than happenin',

I found a formerly bustling town turned monument to the past.

Between the - the museum and the church,

that's the nucleus now.

Brian is a historical writer,

Shannon curates the museum, they know their stuff.

The Reverend William King who was a -

an abolitionist, came here, and he founded on an

ideal opportunity for land ownership,

access to education, and a protection from racism.

So when people come, we encourage them to ring the bell.

Turn the wheel!

[Bell rings].

Brian and Shannon showed me the Liberty Bell.

If you were out in the field, and you heard that

bell ringing, you knew that someone,

or a family had arrived here in freedom.

Everybody would gather, the whole community would gather,

and band together,

and help this person build their new home.

It's said that they could build one in a day.

Yeah - yeah.

Well I - I guess it might have got tiring after a while,

you know, you have a long hard day in

the field, you sit down, kick your feet up

with a cup of tea, you hear the liberty bell ring

[Bell rings]

- it's like, "Great, somebody found

their freedom, I better find my tool kit - okay".

[Laughing].

We're deeply rooted here.

We're farmers, so that keeps us tied to the land.

And my most precious farm, my great,

great grandfather, who was a slave, had bought

when he, um, grew up, um - here in Canada.

So I- if you ran from your master in Alabama,

and arrived here in Buxton to - and became a -

a - a freed slave, a farmer,

this is the kind of place that you'd be living in?

Yes [laughs] it is.

Do you wanna stick your head inside?

Yeah.

I'm sort of overwhelmed by - by an emotion that

I had trouble defining to myself,

and then I realized, it's pure envy.

4 bedrooms!

[Laughing].

I live downtown Toronto, 2 storey, 4 bedroom.

If this was in Toronto,

this would cost you over a million

[Laughing].

And this is the museum, and then that's the school.

- and this is the school here.

Yes.

It's the only school left in Canada that was

built by former slaves.

It was the first time blacks could be educated,

and they took it very seriously.

Alright, students will not speak unless spoken to.

They still bring in kids like me today to

educate them about just how seriously.

And there will be no giggling, whispering,

or squirming in your desk.

I got to do a mock class, uh, Shannon gets all done

up as a 1910 school teacher, she gets the

whole outfit, - Miss Kelly - Yes Mr. Enis.

Now, you wish to speak.

Miss Kelly, I can't find how to switch it on.

[Laughing]

She marches me up to the blackboard in

front of the class, and she -

she draws a circle on the chalk board.

On your toes, please.

Nose in circle.

Wh- what if...

Nose in circle, thank you.

But she draws it so high,

I was on up on my tippy-toes - [Laughing].

Eyes forward.

And I'm up here with my nose in the thing thinking

hang on, now who else has had their nose on this blackboard?

[Laughing].

Which back in 1910 would've been a -

a valid concern, you know, you're -

you're standing there thinkin' "The last kid who had

his snot box on this chalkboard might've

had Spanish fever" [Laughing].

Seems to me that the - the - the story of

Buxton's history is in good hands.

You guys seem like a pretty good team to me.

You guys go together like Ebony and well I guess Ebony

[Laughing].

What I've noticed in Buxton since I got here is

- a tradition of - of passing the torch to

the next generation.

I went to visit Brad and Jeremy Eagan at uh,

Bradonna Woodworking.

Uh, we make parts for other cabinet jobs.

We do butcher block tops, we make mouldings,

bar brackets, corbels, pillars, anything

fancy on a kitchen.

Bradonna, Brad named it for himself and his wifes

- uh, Brad and Onna, uh, [Laughing].no Donna,

Brad and Donna, Brad and Donna.

The last, what, three months we've had the best

months ever three months in a row.

Uh, in fact, they are the largest employer

in all of North Buxton.

They are the only employer in - [Laughing].

So the fun section of the building

is the old train station.

1870, yes.

The original train station from the road tracks, yeah.

Business is goin' so good for these guys, they had

to buy the church next to their building.

They were gonna tear it down, because they though

it was not structurally safe anymore

- Yeah.

- but it - it's a good, solid building.

Uh - I guess the town would've been grateful

that you guys took over the place,

so it was it gonna be torn down, or-?

There are a couple people that don't like to

see a church used for anything but a church.

But I figure, you know, Jesus doesn't mind to see

some fellow carpenters come in there,

I think it's [Laughing].- the hardest thing

I think is - is - you're in there with all that

heavy lumbar, is that if you dropped it on your foot,

you'd have to run out before you could curse, right?

[Laughing].

You're, like, "Ow - ... Holy hell!"

Jeremy, you grew up here.

Yes.

Well, growing up, there was a lot of kids my age

and I was, like,

the only white kid.

To me, didn't make a difference whatsoever.

I didn't even realize what racism really was

until I got to high school.

But what's even more interesting is that he

didn't even really notice - he didn't -

all those times gettin' picked last for basketball

[Laughing].

Bradonna's business is restoring Buxton's past,

and creating incredible opportunities

for people like Jeremy.

I think I needed to actually get out and do

other things and have other jobs since this was,

like, the only place I worked at for ma-

majority of my life just

realizing that I can't tell my boss to

eff-off anywhere else, so - Yeah.

Might as well come back here and do it.

Uh, Jeremy wants to get his name in there now too, right?

He wants to call it "Jeb-"

[Laughing].

Jebredeneremy!"

[Laughing].

The next generation of farmers are keeping

Buxton going, but if you go visit one,

watch your step.

You're steppin' on my beans, dog.

Hey, come on man [Laughing].

Watch your steps, man, this is my money

right here - see [Laughing].

So I went to talk to this guy, uh, Brian and

Shannon's son, Chris, the Prince of Princes.

[Applause].

So, usually there's not even this many weeds in a field,

but I decided this year to try to farm

without having to spray this area.

When you think about a farmer, you don't

typically think about a young black guy.

Chris, you're not the stereotypical farmer.

No, no, no no, most people see me, and they don't

think I'd farm actual soy beans, you know,

they think I'm growin' weed or somethin' in the fields.

[Laughing].

It's terrible.

You don't grow any weed, do you?

[Laughing].

We'll talk after- we'll talk about it after

- What's the hardest part of farming

now in Southern Ontario?

The hardest part is the gamble, you know,

you gotta sell at the right time, or you're

losin' out on thousands and thousands of dollars,

so - We were gonna get some weeds out

in his, uh, soybean field.

It's a little easier if you got a hoe,

and I got hoes.

I got a broke hoe, I got a good hoe,

I got hoes, so I'll get you a hoe.

Aren't you married?

[Laughing].

He said "I'll go get us some hoes",

he got all kinds of hoes.

[Laughing].

I don't even know what to do with a hoe.

I'll show you, man, that's what I'm here for -

I got you.

No, he was very nice - he gave me the nice hoe!

I had the nice hoe.

Oh, I just wanna give my hoe 80 dollars

and have a good cry.

[Laughing].

city folks.

He's an impressive guy.

This guy's a full-time farmer -

leader of the youth group - Yeah.

Father of 5 - And a half - And a half,

you got another one on the way.

On layaway.

Okay, so he's also a big reason there is a youth group.

[Laughing].

So do you like comin' in the tractor?

The young boys, they love the farm, they love,

you know, the - the tractors and stuff right now.

But just as his parents sort of passed the torch

to him, he's a- a farmer and a historian,

he's hopin' to pass it on to his kids.

- that's what I'm doin', payin' it forward,

these guys'll be - uh,

the next generation of farmers.

He's only 3 years old, so it's still, like,

sort of wait and see stage, right?

Like if I'd made a career out of what I enjoyed

doing when I was 3 years old, I'd be eating

snot for a living is what I'd be doing

[Laughing].

But me and Chris were talkin' about how

- how sort of racial lines in Buxton

have dissolved over the years, and he said

"Man, there are no races, there's just us".

[Applause].

Uh, Chris had a - I've mentioned that people in

North Buxton a- are related

- Chris had an excellent story - can I tell this one?

Yeah, come on.

I've met some cousins I had never seen before,

and ended up tryin' to get this girl's phone number.

Basically, he hit on her, and found out after

that she was his cousin [Laughing].

I said "After what?"

[Laughing].

Across Canada, during the - the Civil war,

there were 8, uh, communities designated

specifically for black slaves to come -

and start over, and four of them in Ontario, and

- and - and Buxton is the only one left.

It's a living memorial to the underground

railroad, and the people who came here to farm and

start a new life, and that's really what -

what George has done, cause he came here,

and started a new life.

A place this size would've cost me at least a

million dollars in Toronto.

Yeah.

He didn't have to face the perils of the

underground railroad - as far as I know,

he just went to the truck I think.

[Laughing].

But George's dream - he wanted to grow vegetables

and have some rows of fruit trees, and sell that

produce on the side of the road to the locals.

It doesn't feel soft.

No.

The only thing is, his soil isn't good, and

- and to get it going, he needs mulch.

How much mulch would - would you need to cover this?

Um...

I figure about 3 tonnes.

We've all been at that place in our lives, right?

[Laughing].

Where the only thing standing between

you and your dreams is 3 tonnes of mulch.

[Laughing].

On top of the mulch deficit, George has a few

things to take care of around the house.

Like the house.

The house is, uh, collapsing gradually.

Uh, I'm hoping I can build it at a slightly

faster rate than it's falling down.

The thing is, no matter how much trouble George

has had getting hi- his farm off the ground,

or in the ground, I guess, at least Buxton is a

place where he can try -

people will let him make a go of it.

We bought the place, and we hadn't even moved in.

People here had come and introduced themselves.

Everyone was very happy to meet us, very happy to

tell us about the people who had lived here

before, uh - this house is kickin' my ass every day.

But, it's the best place I've ever lived.

George, if you wanna be smart about it,

just tomorrow, you go ring the liberty bell,

and get everybody to come - [Laughing].

[Bell ringing].

Come build a new house.

[Cheering and applause].

There's a whole other meaning of the word race,

that's been important to this town for almost 40 years.

And everybody told me if I wanna see the

action in Buxton now, I'd have to go to

South Buxton Raceway.

[Cheering].

It's amazing.

Local sponsors and volunteers keep it rolling.

Generations here have grown up watching

local heroes put the pedal to the metal.

Just go around that big mud onto the track.

And former racer, Kirk Hooker,

stays in Buxton just to be a part of it all.

It means something to me, this is home, you know,

I'm a - we're racers, this what we do on

Saturday nights, you know, this is where we come.

You can get 2000 people in here, rockin' the place,

it's pretty amazing, like, you know,

it brought tears to my eyes.

[racing announcement]

They've got racing in the blood, and they said that that would

happen to me, and all the cars [whooshing sound]

fly by, and then you get a dirt shower.

[Laughing].

So, like, I don't know if I have racing in my blood,

but I had racing in my hair, and my butt crack.

[Laughing].

So I went to talk to Tiffany and Jim Ellis.

[Car engine revs].

Just checkin' the brake fluid.

So I have breaks.

Jim drove, but he said he - he had a harrowing

accident at one point, he flipped the car

over 7 times, and as the car was flying

through the air, doing the maybe 5th or 6th flip,

he thought to himself

"Man, I gotta get my daughter into this"

[Laughing].

She was probably about 10 years old, and she started

helpin' me out in the car, and last year I had a

heart attack, so - So I just been drivin' by myself.

During the race Tiffany had some, uh,

mechanical issues.

She started to overheat, and she came off.

Mike, give me a half inch wrench.

Right away, uh, Jim and - and Mike jumped in,

and they started fixing the problem.

Her radiator fan broke and -

and shredded the radiator.

What?

Don't even worry about the shroud,

Mike, we'll just leave it the way it is.

And then they were changin' a tire,

but the generator for the air gun didn't work,

so some guys from the other team, they came

over with their generator and fired it up.

I'm not worried about that, I'm worried

about turning on the water pump.

And then even across the way, the -

the guy that she's in direct competition with, they are

tied for points, he came over to help them out.

I thought, you know, if she went to him, and said

"Hey, do you have a radiator fan?"

he'd be like "Yeah I got a radiator fan,

here you go"

[Laughing].

"I got two of 'em if you want!"

[Laughing].

But when the race started, Tiffany didn't.

I thought they'd be heartbroken.

Then suddenly they're laughin',

clappin' each other on the back.

I was blown away, I couldn't believe it.

[Applause].

And Jim said to me any night she comes off the

track safely, he's proud of her.

So, it was -

[Applause].

But it - it was kind of a weird moment, 'cause there

was Tiffany, who didn't get to finish her

race, there's Jim, who's now got a broken down

race car, and I'm the only one cryin'.

[Laughing].

I'm glad I had a cry though,

I had to get somethin' out.

The dirt in my eyeballs - [Laughing].

[Choir sings church hymn].

Kleeda Morris, everybody.

She's 90 years old,

and she's lived in Buxton her entire life.

Kleeda helps keep the culture of community

together by running the men's choir.

I heard the plan was to, um, get all churches,

all races - kind of a multi-cultural - Yeah.

Choir.

And these guys, I've met 'em, there's a great bunch

of guys, they're - they're from mid 50s right

up to late 80s, and sometimes they fill in for

the Rolling Stones, right?

- [Laughing].

- for the Rolling Stones sometimes.

'Cause everybody likes to have a sing.

Oh, they do!

[Sings] "Every time I feel the spirit" -

Spirituals, it was actually quite rousing - I got a bit -

I got a little - I got a little bit of

the spirit in me, okay?

[Laughing].

[Sings] "Every time I feel the spirit"-

It's the spirit of Buxton.

Slaves risked everything to make it here,

and it worked.

You see it at the annual homecoming weekend,

when thousands of people, ancestors of the slaves

who settled here, come from all over the

world to celebrate the Buxton spirit,

and pass the torch.

Buxton Ontario is the happy ending to the most

shameful era of American History.

[Applause].

It was built upon a principal - the right to education,

the right to land ownership,

and the right to accidentally date your cousin.

[Laughing].

Before I came over for the show tonight, uh,

my mom called me for the first time since

I got here, and she said "Uh, Jonathon,

how's it goin' in Buxton?"

I said "Mom, it's great.

I rang the liberty bell, hung out with some Hookers,

got strapped by a school marm,

kissed a dirty hoe, and sang for my salvation".

She said "Jonathon, what are you talking about"

I said "Mom, I'm talkin' about Buxton Ontario"

- thanks so much everybody!

[Cheering and Applause]

It was great for

the whole community.

Yeah, it was, it really was.

I'm pretty proud to be, uh, from [unclear]to say

that I belong to North Buxton I don't even

know what the big deal is, Jonny, she wasn't even my

second cousin, she was, like, third, fourth,

cousin, I mean, like, way down the line.

It was fantastic.

I just had to give my dad a hug [Laughing].

Makin' fun of me?

[Laughing].

It was - it was all good.

I liked it all.

I liked everything.

- I'm drivin' Miss Daisy.

[Laughing].

It was awesome - Awesome - Amazing!

Enjoyed it muchly.

Thanks John.

[Laughing].