Welcome home, Paul

Paul Anka took a little trip back to his hometown and ended up at Ottawa City Hall where civic officials feted the international singing star.

Mayor Bob Chiarelli yesterday presented the singer with a plaque proclaiming today "Paul Anka Day" in Ottawa and he also received an oil painting of the old teacher's college building, which now forms part of City Hall. The ceremony was the second such honour for the 60-year-old singer since he arrived early Thursday morning.

"It's a privilege to welcome back one of our native sons again," said Mr. Chiarelli.

"It's also a privilege for me as a contemporary of Paul Anka who grew up in the same neighbourhoods and lived through the same era. We were both born in the same year, we were raised here and we enjoyed the same experiences. Your parents were operating a restaurant in Ottawa at that time, and my parents were operating a grocery store."

Mr. Anka performs tonight at a benefit concert at the Congress Centre in aid of the Canadian Liver Foundation.

Mr. Anka was visibly touched by the outpouring of appreciation on his first official visit home in more than 20 years.

"I realized it was time to come home because I've been away from here professionally for awhile," said Mr. Anka to about 30 people gathered outside the mayor's chambers.

"When you reach the age that I'm at - 60-years-old - you realize your priorities change. I've been very lucky and with this last passage of my life there are certain things I want to accomplish.

"One of them was to come back to Ottawa which has been very good to me for the most part. I've had my little incidents here, but they're all indigenous to hometowns and the people that lead them, but they're deep behind us."

At a reception in the mayor's boardroom, Mr. Anka was presented with an old 45 rpm of Eso Besso, which belonged to Bernadine Clifford, an employee of the city's protocol office. She said he was surprised to see the record, released in 1963.

"He said to me 'where did you dig that up,'" said Ms. Clifford, moments after Mr. Anka autographed the tattered record cover. She said the 45 rpm first belonged to her father who had bought it in the mid-'60s when he served in the Canadian military. She had kept the record since then in her buffet drawer in her Ottawa home.

John Topelko, a former Fisher Park High School teacher, attended the reception and remembers a young Paul Anka coming to him for advice in the fall of 1956.

"Paul came to me in turmoil and asked for my opinion. He said 'I've written a song and I'd like to launch this thing and I can't see how I could possibly do it without taking a little time off (from school)," said Mr. Topelko, 76, who retired from teaching in 1983.

"I said to him if you really have a lot of confidence in this thing then by all means go for it. He seemed so keen and sure that he must have something going, so the song turned out to be Diana and the rest is history."

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