This 96-year-old has been singing to hospital patients for 30 years
CBC
If you've seen a 96-year-old man lugging a guitar or belting out a tune in Toronto hospitals, it was probably George Linton.
For the past three decades, the former journalist from Toronto has been volunteering his time to sing to patients and hospital staff in need of a pick-me-up. Last month, the Governor General awarded him the Sovereigns' Medal for Volunteers to recognize his work.
"I hope that somehow it may encourage other people who do music to keep at it and realize, as I'm sure many musicians do, how much the music is enjoyed by people who may not get much happiness in their lives because of pain," Linton told CBC News.
He says he first got his start with music when he was 10. He was inspired to learn the guitar by listening to songs on the radio, and would go on to learn the mandolin, banjo, violin and viola.
"I've written a few songs, but nothing too startling, I guess," he said.
Linton, a former Globe and Mail reporter, started playing music for people in nursing homes and hospitals in his spare time with his late first wife, Peggy. Soon after he retired, it quickly became a full-time gig, says Blair McKay, Linton's son-in-law.
"His schedule was so full that he could only find one day when he could come and visit his granddaughter, who was in the country for three weeks," says McKay.
"That tells you how busy his schedule was... and he's still playing and performing now."
Linton says he mostly plays familiar country or folk tunes from the 30s, 40s, and 50s. He says the song that's requested the most is You Are My Sunshine, but he's known to try to play songs he doesn't know, if audience members ask for them.
"George would ask somebody, 'Oh, can you sing me a line of it?' And from that he would try to pick up the melody or the tune he made," said Susan Bertoldi, the operations leader of volunteer services at St. Joseph's Health Centre in Toronto.
"Not only is he a wonderful musician, he has a very kind and gentle manner with people," Bertoldi said.
"And on top of that, he has a pretty lively sense of humour, too."
Both Bertoldi and McKay say it was gratifying to see someone like Linton get the recognition he deserves.
Linton himself says he hopes his award inspires others to use their talents and passions to spread joy.
When the federal government tabled its 2025 budget last month, it included a proposal that tax fraud experts say is long overdue — if also a belated acknowledgement that the Canada Revenue Agency has been repeatedly duped into paying out untold millions in bogus tax refunds to scammers.
Talking with an AI chatbot can successfully convince people to change their votes and could affect the outcome of future elections, according to a new study.
While some are writing wishlists for Santa Claus, a group of Newfoundland and Labrador youth are writing their wishlist for the provincial government.
A horse owner near Stewiacke, N.S., says the current shortage of hay in the province is putting pressure on her financially.
Victoria Volkanova was remembering Jewish resilience and courage by celebrating Hanukkah on Sunday.
Winnipeggers are still digging out from this past week’s winter wallop, but the wait for roadside assistance is almost over, according to the provincial motoring association.
When long-time journalist Cornelia Naylor picked up the first copy of her newly printed community newspaper this week, it wasn’t something she had ever expected to do.
The province's police watchdog is investigating the circumstances surrounding the death of a woman in Toronto Sunday.
Toronto police say a collision involving several vehicles in the city's east-end left one driver in life-threatening condition Sunday.
A church service in Stratford, P.E.I., brought together Christmas traditions from across the globe on Sunday.
On an extremely cold day, many people would prefer to stay home, cozy up under a blanket, and put on the TV, radio, or a favourite podcast.
In an era of Ring doorbells and No Soliciting signs, breaking the evening silence of a suburban London street can sometimes feel like a radical act.
For years, oil tanker traffic has been prohibited off the waters of northern British Columbia in order to protect environmentally sensitive coastlines from disaster.