NOPE!
It IS WAH SAY GA or I'm not buying any products there as a tourist.
I know, I hate people calling Toronto Ta ra na, but if they're spending a lot of money here, I guess I can tolerate it a bit...

I called Wasaga Beach city hall.
A recording said "thankyou for calling the wa-SAH-gah Beach municipal office"
Could the person who made the recording on the official city hall answering service be wrong in pronouncing it wah-SAH-gah?


 

Ms. C. wrote:

Is not too late (is never too late) to get it right, Jody

I have always known it to be Wa Say Ga beach. 
Even the Greyhound bus drivers used to say it that way. 
There's no more Greyhound today. 


 
 

Years ago when Libyan madman Moammar was still running rampant, news organizations could not settle on how to spell his last name. They used Kahdaffi, Gadaffy etc.  Until one clever AP news reporter in Libya actually got to meet with the dictator in person.
The story goes he pulled out his notepad and pen and handed it to the Libyan nutbar and asked him to spell his name in English.
The result -- Gadhafi. Straight from the horse's mouth so to speak.
AP has used the spelling ever since.
 

Ms. C. wrote:

The issue is respect for 24,800 proud residents, mainly senior citizens, with little else to do but sit in front of the TV all day watching CTV news mangle the name of their town.     Oh, the humanity

Reminds me of how almost everyone misspells 'St. Catharines' as 'St. Catherines'.
 

Clearly this is another case of people putting the emPHAsis on the wrong sylLABle.

Ms.C. , you will soon see me cruising the streets of Wah sah ga in a new tow truck again. Finally getting the approval to return to work very shortly. 

Last edited by mic'em (January 14, 2023 12:43 pm)

Glen Warren wrote:

    Seems like the aging demographic coupled with the small town feel would make Wasaga Beach prime territory for a franchise expansion of High Street Fish and Chips?   

Sea food has become expensive; seniors have deep pockets but short arms.    Not a good combo     

Also seniors are upset that CTV is today pronouncing it "Wah Say Ga" instead of the correct "Wah Sah Ga",   

Folks are descending on Mayor Smith's office and demanding intervention  
 

Did gramps build your place on the NottawaSAYga River?

georgio1 wrote:

Did gramps build your place on the NottawaSAYga River?

It was on the bay side. But I think djwildbill in post #3 nailed it. There's no right or wrong here.

I'm just telling you how we pronounced it in our little corner of the place. That was the accepted pronunciation. I can't say it your way, it feels unnatural.

It feels strange to even be debating it. I mean the conflict has existed long before any of us were born. The Hurons probably argued about it with the Redcoats.
 

I expect the news was probably about the town's opposition to unauthorized auto rallies. I know they intended to moblize the Gest... sorry, the OPP.

I was there two weeks ago, but I always clear out ahead of holiday weekends.

Once school starts, the place becomes much more comfortable. But I miss the days when water came from a hand pump outside the back door, and my mom cooked on a Coleman stove powered by gasoline.

We won't talk about the outhouse, but there were three of them in a cluster. Neighbours, ya know. Everyone was fully visible on every visit, and no one cared at all. It was part of life in those days.

Not to mention the ice truck that came by with blocks of ice in sawdust. They had a barrel of water, and would dip your block in it to wash off the sawdust so you could take it inside and put it in the icebox.

I have a pair of the tongs they used to use.

Do I qualify as a local?
 

The police have been somewhat successful in diverting the " rally " participants away from Wasaga. A number of them have been collecting in various large parking lots in Collingwood, only to be descended on by officers like flies on fresh cowpie. CTV2 Barrie news reporter Ian Duffy was on hand in the Canadian Tire lot and interviewed a young fellow who had been checked out by police . I was standing just off camera and had a pleasant conversation with Mr Duffy afterwards. He is a very nice young man, and is one of the better talent on that team in my opinion. I wish him well going forward. 

That's a risky proposition! It looks like the Dard is about to be razed. A piece of history.

I'm 68 years old. I can't remember when there was no Dardanella. It's a part of the place. It will be a sad day when the Dard goes.

I remember when the bikers brought a hay bale into the town square, dropped it, and set it alight. Ha ha, those were the days.

The arcade, lost to a devastating fire.

Childhood memories, gone.

 

I think it was the "Capstan Inn" . But I'm an old guy with failing memory.