Every summer Windsor co-hosts the two-week-long Windsor-Detroit International Freedom Festival, which culminates in a gigantic fireworks display that celebrates Canada Day and the American Independence Day. The fireworks display is among the world's largest and is held on the final Wednesday in June on the Detroit River between the two downtowns. Each year, the event attracts over a million spectators to both sides of the riverfront. (Wikipedia)

After covering the relentless bloodshed in Iraq since Saddam Hussein was toppled in 2003, I had photographed so many victims of bombings, sectarian beheadings and shootings that I thought I had grown numb to violence. But nothing prepared me for the scene unfolding on the wide, two-laned road in Baghdad's northern Qahira district, a mixed Sunni and Shi'ite area of the capital. (...)

I had always arrived at the scene after the bombings or shootings. This was the first time I was actually there at the moment of attack.

Abandoned and burned out shells of buildings are a frequent sight, with some 16,037 empty houses recorded in 1999. The city lacks funding to demolish the properties and the homes are often used for the production, sale, and use of illicit drugs.

The city has faced hundreds of arsons, often in the city's many abandoned homes, each year on Devil's Night, the evening before Halloween. The Angel's Night campaign, launched in the late 1990s, draws many volunteers to patrol the streets during Halloween week. The effort has reduced arson: while there were 810 fires set in 1984, this was reduced to 142 in 1996 (Wikipedia)

Despite improvement in recent years, Detroit's crime figures are often among the highest in the U.S. The city is currently listed as the most dangerous city with more than 500,000 by the Morgan Quitno's statistics, but comes after Camden, New Jersey. Detroit is consistently in the top five for homicide rates. Murders peaked at 714 in 1974, though the highest murder rate was recorded in 1991, when there were 615 homicides and the city's population was just over a million. In 2003, there were 361 homicides, the lowest count in recent years. (Wikipedia)

In his day, distillers sold their products in unmarked barrels, but Hiram Walker set a precedent by putting his product in bottles that bore his name: Walker's Club Whisky. His product was immediately popular and became the first Canadian brand of whisky to be marketed around the world. Success in the U.S. prompted U.S. competitors to lobby Congress and forced Hiram Walker to add the word "Canadian" to the name.

As his success grew, Walker purchased more land, continued to build homes for his employees, established and provided free public utilities, built St. Mary's Anglican Church in memory of his wife, Mary Abigail, who died in 1870, campaigned for good schools and supported them generously.

(...)

In 1882, he built a short railway to connect with his new farm in the interior of Essex County. By 1898, the railway went as far as Kingsville. This transformed Walkerville from a small village adjacent to Windsor into an important town. To facilitate his journey back to Detroit and to connect up with his new railroad, Walker established his own ferry from his Walkerville plant to Detroit.

(...)

Walker never sold the land or the company-built cottages. Consequently, he was able to control the type of individual that would live in the village

(...)

Walker provided fire and police protection, street lighting, well-paved and drained streets and running water. Walkerville was a model community unparalleled in Ontario due to its high standard of urban design and building quality provided by the best professional advice on architecture and planning available at that time.

WINDSOR: ISN'T THAT A KNOT IN A TIE?
Let's get one thing straight right away: Windsor is SOUTH of Detroit. Not north, south. Got it?

If you accept that, everything else will make better sense.

Like why we consider ourselves Canada's best kept secret, an oddball in Ontario, and proud of both distinctions.

Diplomatically speaking, Windsor is a study in contrasts. In other words, we're kinda weird.

For starters, we have the country's most popular commercial tourism attraction, yet we're not exactly mentioned in the same breath as the French Riviera.

We're acclaimed as the country's automotive capital, yet we possess arguably the most beautiful, commercial-free stretch of meticulously landscaped waterfront in Canada.

Or how about this: we're globally renowned for our raunchy strip clubs, yet honored as the most generous United Way donors per capita for 26 years running.

Confused? Well, we are sometimes too, and it's not just the fumes from our pollution control plant.

But enough psycho analysis. To understand who we are, first you have to know where we are.


WINDSOR: WHERE FORTH ART THOU?
Remember that disorienting north-south thing? It gets worse. Not only are we directly south of a major U.S. metropolis, we're the same latitude as northern California (and close to Rome and Barcelona) and we still get windchill factors that drop the mercury to -34 Celsius (-30 Fahrenheit for all you metrically challenged).

Windsor is an eclectic, largely lunch bucket collection of 208,000 people, nestled in an oddly shaped thumb at the bottom of Canada, directly south of Detroit, Michigan. We're a four-hour drive from Toronto, about five hours from Chicago and five minutes from Detroit.

We're plunked in the middle of North America's Great Lakes system. It's a historically strategic location that dates back to the War of 1812 and later to the rum-running days of the prohibition (Chicago's Al Capone was a frequent visitor, probably for the quality of our cement shoes).

The Detroit River is the city's northern boundary, separating us from our big American brother The river is one of the world's busiest commercial waterways, from oil tankers to grain freighters, linking Lake Erie with Lake St. Clair and Lake Huron.

Our location and the accompanying weather explains a lot about our seasonal disposition.

Ever seen Kevin Costner's Waterworld? Ever been steamed in a sauna for, say, three months straight? That's Windsor from June to August. One July day in 1995, the humidex reading (humidity factored into the temperature) said it felt like 50 C (122 F). A "dry heat" here means changing your shirt only three times a day. Air conditioning ranks just below oxygen and food as a staple of life.

However, while the rest of Canada washes its hair with anti-freeze in the winter, we do quite well. What little snow we get is shoveled by the city's snow plow (okay, maybe we got more than one). It can still get a might chilly, but there's no danger of being ticketed for sliding through a dog-sledding crossing around here.

In terms of terrain, the highest elevation anywhere is your rooftop. Windsor and Essex County is flatter than William Shatner's rendition of Mr. Tambourine Man (you've got to hear it to believe it).


WINDSOR: WE HARDLY KNOW YOU
We often moan about the the governing forces of Ontario and Canada ignoring the country's southernmost city, left isolated and overwhelmed by our Detroit neighbors.

That's contributed to some unique Windsor hang-ups, including the "We-Get-No-Respect Complex," the "We-Love-You-We-Hate-You-Detroit Complex" and the "Toronto-You-Gravy-Sucking-Pig Complex" (suffered by many Canadian cities).

All that has fostered a hearty community spirit, since we believe nobody else cares. We think of ourselves as one big neighborhood of 200,000, with another 130,000 friends living in the region of suburbs and rural municipalities surrounding the city, known as Essex County (or just The County).

We're home to the University of Windsor and St. Clair College, Hiram Walker distillery (birthplace of the world's best hooch - Canadian Club whisky) and Windsor Salt (thank us for your high blood pressure and rusting cars). We also sport probably the highest number of swimming pools per capita in Canada, and enough golf courses to make Jack Nicklaus' putter perk up.

So what's important to us?

We're fiercely protective of our 260 km of waterfront in Essex County, from our jewel, Point Pelee National Park, to sprawling stretches of beaches, parks and paths. A daily coffee and donut is considered sacred (Tim Horton's shops are houses of worship) and don't even think of taking us on in the Three Bs: bingo, bowling and boating (wealthy kids around here are born with silver oars in their mouths).

But it's that chummy, everybody-knows-everybody flavor that we take pride in most. From minor league hockey teams to charity groups, we're all one big happy family. Don't be fooled by American imitators, Windsor was the first to offer southern hospitality.


WINDSOR: MOTOWN SOUTH
Which brings us back to that Detroit thing again.
The Ambassador Bridge - the longest international suspension bridge in the world - and the Detroit/Windsor Tunnel (under the river) provide a faster route to the U.S. than you could drive to the other side of town.

The overwhelming influence of the imperialist running dogs (we mean that in a nice way) has made us the most Americanized city in Canada. And that's not counting the carloads of 19-year-old Michiganders flooding into our bars on weekends to take advantage of the lower Ontario drinking age.

From television, radio, entertainment and sports to shopping and big business, Detroit is an integral part of our lives, for better for worse, til costly border tolls do us part, whether we like it or not - you'll get 208,000 different opinions on the subject.

The most visual love-in between the two cities takes place during the annual Freedom Festival in late June, early July. The highlight is North America's largest, most spectacular fireworks display, where an estimated one million gawkers ooh and ahhh from both sides of the shoreline. The half-hour extravaganza actually explodes from barges floating in the river.

You haven't seen fireworks until you've seen these. Awesome baby.

On that note, we feel obligated to pass on some other brochure/almanac type info so you can out-geek your local watering-hole friends:

The Windsor area's leading industries are automotive manufacturing, agriculture, and tourism (last year, the value of all manufactured goods alone topped $20 billion). The average family income is about $53,000 Canadian (or about $20 US) and more than 50 per cent of the population is Catholic.

What does this all mean? Don't ask us, we just live here.


WINDSOR: CARS ARE US
If you drive any kind of car, it's probably running on Windsor parts.
The Big Three automakers all have roots here, thanks to Henry Ford's choice of Windsor as his international launching pad in the early 1900s.

More than 30,000 people are employed in automotive production in Chrysler, Ford and General Motors and hundreds of auto-related suppliers which make everything from hubcaps and seat covers to technologically-advanced tool and die machinery (which makes the parts that make all the parts).

Permit us some chest-pounding. Windsor is the home of the award-winning Chrysler minivan, which has posted record sales and profits since Lee "I-Never-Met-A-Woman-I-Didn't-Marry" Iacocca unveiled the revolutionary vehicle in 1984. All of Ford's F-Series truck engines (the biggest selling vehicle on the planet) are made here. Heck, more than 70 parts for the Suzuki Sidekick are made in Windsor.

The auto industry also provides one of the city's most recognized Windsorism. It's a dead giveaway to the natives here: you don't say Ford, you say Fords, you don't say Chrysler, you say Chryslers.

Don't laugh. Canada Customs officers use this identifying genetic marker to smoke out border thieves. "Nothing to declare, eh? Where do you work, Ford or Fords?" Gets them every time.


WINDSOR: BABY NEEDS A BRAND NEW PAIR OF SHOES
Known for lavish "adult entertainment" venues which earned us the nickname Tijuana North, the sin city reputation got another boost when Windsor was chosen Ontario's first casino gambling site. But we're not complaining.

The interim casino was opened in 1994, temporarily housed in the former Art Gallery of Windsor, which before that was a brewery (could we make this stuff up?).

Casino Windsor features 1,700 slot machines and 73 gaming tables, from blackjack to Pai Gow poker (sorry, no dice games, they're illegal in Canada). The money pit is owned by the provincial government but operated by Las Vegas's Hilton, Caesars and Circus Circus conglomerates.

Daily attendance tops more than 15,000 suckers.... uh, guests, at what was crowned Canada's most popular commercial attraction.

Last year, the casino operations soaked gamblers of about half a billion dollars, which was deposited into Ontario government coffers.

We would now like to acknowledge our American friends who account for about 80 per cent of the casinos' attendance. By emptying your pockets, you've helped pay down our debt and ease our taxes. We call that mighty neighbourly.


WINDSOR: HOW I LOVE YA, HOW I LOVE YA
Used to be when the only culture you could find in Windsor was in the yogurt.

Things have been changing, thanks to a modest arts community that has thrived in the shadow of Detroit's powerhouse entertainment scene.

As proud as we are of our homegrown talents, most of us scoot across the river for concerts, touring broadway shows or music festivals.

But we've managed to carve a nice little niche right in our own backyard.

Windsor has one of the best small symphony orchestras performing a full season in Canada. Windsor Feminist Theatre, Windsor Light Opera, and University Players provide another night out, and the refurbished Capitol Theatre pinch hits with other plays and concerts.

Members of the alternative band Tea Party are native Windsorites, as is rising pop diva Tamia Washington. Literary notables who've taught at the University of Windsor include Marshall McLuhan (the unofficial godfather of the Internet) and Thomas Moore, author of the million-seller Care of Soul self-help book (44 weeks on the New York Times bestseller list) and W.O. Mitchell.

Two television and a handful of radio stations broadcast from Windsor. CKLW "The Big 8" was a dominant player in the music industry in the late 1960s and early 1970s, broadcasting to crazed teens in Ohio, Michigan and Ontario. In its heyday, the AM radio station is credited with spawning the rock and roll careers of such area acts as Bob Seger and Ted Nugent. It's now joined the talk-radio set.


WINDSOR: TAKE ONE FOR THE TEAM
Here's another disclaimer: for professional sports (NHL, NFL, NBA, baseball) we usually look to the toll booths leading to Detroit.
Sports is taken verrrrrry seriously here. Office water coolers are often the scene of animated debates involving the Red Wings, Lions, Pistons and the Pussycats (eg. Tigers). We sometimes split our allegiances with Toronto sports teams, but its a cyclical thing (like everytime Halley's Comet drops by).

Windsor has its share of sports fanfare. Windsor Raceway is recognized internationally for horse racing. Bettors can drop a line not only on live programs, but on television simulcasts races from around the globe, including the U.S., Asia and Europe.

As we said, boating is big around here, from sailing and yachting to weekly regattas. Americans flood our marinas looking for a safe harbor and beer that doesn't taste like tap water.

The Windsor Spitfires are our beloved junior hockey team, spawning NHLers such as the Florida Panther's Ed Jovanovski, Adam Graves (only the second Ranger to score 50 goals in a season) and Hall-of-Fame goaltender Glenn Hall.

In 1996, Windsor's 19-year-old Jennifer Robinson was crowned Canadian figure skating champion. And our university track and field team has dominated their sport, winning the past five Ontario university championships, with the women's team winning the last five Canadian championships.

Now if our cricket and jai lai teams could only get their acts together.

WINDSOR: WE DON'T MEAN TO BRAG, BUT....
Ever give yourself a hernia trying to unscrew one of those kiddie-proof medication bottles? Those child-resistant, push-'n-turn caps come courtesy of Windsor doctor Henri Breault and pharmacist Bill Wilkinson whose invention is now accepted worldwide by the pharmaceutical industry.

We got lots of other stuff to brag about too, some good, some just quirky. So here goes.

- Windsor had the first mile of concrete pavement in North America, built in 1920. If you've ever driven Windsor roads, you'd realize most haven't been repaved since then.

- Until the multi-gazillion-dollar Chunnel between Britain and France opened last year, the Detroit/Windsor tunnel was the only underwater international vehicle tunnel in the world. (Windsor border joke: U.S. Customs officer at tunnel asks Canadian if he's bringing over any guns into Detroit. Canadian says no. Officer says: "Well here, you better take mine.")

- We're a kinder, gentler people than anywhere else in Canada. Windsor was the birthplace of the predecessor to the United Way charity organization and for 26 consecutive years, the city has been more generous in donations per capita than any other city in the country (it's all those warm, fuzzy autoworkers).

- One company, Toronto-based CHUM Ltd., owns all four private radio stations in Windsor - the only city in Canada blessed with such true spirit of capitalist competition.

- We may not be the birthplace of the bedpan, but you can thank Windsor for other medical firsts that have soothed your boo boos: the first public health unit in Canada in 1919; the first doctor-sponsored, prepaid community health plan in Canada (the forerunner of Ontario's socialized health insurance); and the home of Green Shield, the first medical insurance company to offer a prepaid voluntary drug prescription plan in North America. Next time you're coughing up a lung, hey, think of Windsor.

- We have one of the lowest cable television penetrations in Canada. Barely 50 per cent of the homes have cable. Among stations in Ontario, Detroit, Toledo and Cleveland, you can pick up more television with just a good old-fashioned antenna than just about anywhere, including New York or Los Angeles. Consequently, coat-hanger repairmen do a brisk business here.


WINDSOR: NICE KNOWIN' YA
So that's the Coles (or Cliff) Notes on Windsor. If you live here, most of this will make sense. If you don't, you may now require professional therapy.

Keep this information handy if you're considering dropping by. And if you remember nothing else, please remember the Detroit north-south thing. It's a personal thing.