'A glimpse of what life was like': Man shares 50-year-old film of P.E.I. road trip

Ever wanted to go back in time and see Canada the way it was 50 years ago, including a ferry ride to P.E.I.? Thanks to a discovery of a cache of old home movies in his parents' basement, Toronto's Mark Holtze is making it possible.

Last week, Holtze uploaded to YouTube some of the films he discovered just weeks ago, as he was looking for material for his grandmother's memorial service, including one titled simply P.E.I. and Nova Scotia 1965.

"I stumbled across these film reels, which were next to a projector. When I plugged in the projector, it worked," Holtze, a video editor by day, shared from his Toronto home. He brought the film home, set it up in his office, and began watching.

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"OK, this is something," he recalled thinking.

"I just was glued to the reel," he said, adding he thought "this has some value to an audience." He thought he'd show his family and friends, who loved it, so he posted on YouTube.

'A glimpse of what life was like'

Holze describes the film on his YouTube posting: "Summer 1965, my great-grandfather and great-grandmother plus their two friends drove the 1,700 kilometres from Toronto to P.E.I., stopping at some interesting places along the way." His great-grandfather was an engineer for CN Rail from Toronto.

It's one of several films Holtze is describing as 20th century archives: a look back at everyday life as it once was. He's also posted several others, including a 1963 reel of Niagara Falls, 1963 in Northern Ontario in summer and Walt Disney World in 1971, the year it opened — all found in a box of about 40 films. 

"It's just kind of a glimpse of what life was like with these great Canadian destinations," he said. 

'Fascinating on a personal level'

The P.E.I. shown in the film hasn't really changed all that much. Narrow two-lane roads pass through green fields surrounded by barbed-wire fences, the landscape dotted with white churches. Fishermen enjoying beer on a wharf catch their supper with a rod and reel. 

A fishing boat plies the blue waters — the boats were much smaller 50 years ago, and the traps were all wooden — and there's a beautiful seaside drive at sunset, before the film gives way to a scene at what looks like Peggy's Cove, N.S.

Special for Holtze and his family were some shots of his great-grandparents, in their 60s at the time, playing horsehoes on a P.E.I. beach and kicking their feet in the lapping waves.

Let's put something out there that makes people feel good.— Mark Holtze

"Seeing still images of your family, whom you never really knew, is one thing," Holtze said. "But when you see them, especially in their youth... it makes me ask questions, 'who was he?'"

Seeing his grandparents on film makes him feel closer to them, he said.

"You ... see how the person carries themselves, how the posture is, how they move their hands, what makes them smile," Holtze said. "It's definitely very powerful."

"It's fascinating on a personal level and it's fascinating on a national level — this is Canada at 100, and now we're approaching our 150th," he adds.  

'Really cool'

Holtze thought Islanders would enjoy the film, so he posted it on P.E.I.'s Reddit page, and got "an unbelievable amount of feedback through personal messages." 

"Some of the responses were, 'I grew on P.E.I. at this time, this is exactly how I remember it,'" Holtze said. "To see rolling footage of it was really special to them."

"Hearing the reaction from locals was really cool."

Holtze said it's nice to have something to counter all the negative news in the world today.

"Let's put something out there that makes people feel good." 

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