HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Huron Expositor, 1975-06-26, Page 79Remember. the battle of Duncan's Crossing?
Seaforth bands have glorious histoiy
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would like to tell him something
about Seaforth. He mentioned
that his father had been a band
leader so naturally I gave him all
the infcirmatitan 1- could about
fellow members.
The citizens band started again
after the war and in 1922
purchased a bunch of kilts and
tunics off a Highland Regiment.
The kilt was the MacKenzie
Tartan of the Earl of Seaforth and
that is when our local Seaforth
Highlanders took shape and
performed quite famously for
many years until 1965.
Symphony
One of the leaders of the early
20's was Frank Novak who
married Isobel Scott of Roxboro.
After a short time in Seaforth they
moved to Winnipeg where they
had the Symphony Orchestra for
many years. It is interesting to
note that one of their violinists in
lat er years was a lad called Al
Cherney who carne east, played
for the C.K.N.X ranch boys, won
the fiddlers championship and
now performs on the Tommy
Hunter,' T.V. Show.
I remember Mr. Novak coming
here one summer for a visit.
Naturally he was asked to lead the
band in the park one Sunday
night and the thing that stands
out was the fact he spent over half
an hour tuning us up before he
was satisfied that we were ready
to play.
In the early fall of 1929 the
° band had a bit of a break up so
Ernie Box decided to start up a
Junior Highlander Band. My
brothers D'Orlean and Tom- and
myself along with the Rennie
boys, Jack Habkirk, Harold Free,
John Cardno,Eugene Duncan and
some others 1 can't retail at the
moment practised all winter until
spring. The Senior Band decided
to form again under Milne Rennie
for a short time and then they
persuaded their old leader Billy
Freeman to take over once more.
He was in his late sixties at this
time but still a terrific musician as
well as being a gentleman of the
old school. Bill Freeman
originally started out as a violinist
, until he lost the tips of his fingers
on the left hand in an accident at
the' Broadfoot and Box factory.
As, look back on that practise
room on the second floor of the
Town Hall in the spring of 1930 1
can very vividly recall Billy
Freeman standing in the centre of
the room in front of his music
standliis snow white hair and his
habit of looking over his glasses
and trying to attract the attention
of everyone that he was ready to
start by tapping on the stand with
his short black baton and at the
same time issuing a few dry
coughs. I never saw anyone like
him that could play an intricate
part on a cornet with one hand
and alt the same time beat
perfect time with the baton in his
and.
Th rest of the members at that
e e also quite real in my
mind d starting in the south
east corn r with the comets there
was Dot eid, Milne Rennie,
Charley Stewart (now President
of Simpsons;, Percy Hoag, Irvin
Trewartha, Roy Oke and Ross
Rennie. Next was Pat Box on
Tenor. He was always ready with
a laugh-and-his favourite song
was "Are you the O'Riley that
runs this hotel". Leo Jo3rnt was
alongside of hint and in the north
east corner you found Gerald
Stewart and Bob Tyndal on
saxaphone. The first concert in
the park I had to sit on Gerald's
saxaphone case because there
weren't enough chairs. Next to
the saxophones was Bill Kerr on
trombone - his favourite piece off
music was one called "Sliding
dam" becuase it had so many slur
notes that could really roll out.
Beside him was Frank Johnston,
Tom Sills and Evan Rennie - the
latter developed one of the
smoothest trombone tones that
you would likely' hear, Al Close
was next on baritone and I will
mention him later as a leader -
needless to say he was terrific on
that instrument and followed in
the footsteps of another good
baritone player - Dovvson Reid.
The bass section was along the
north windows with Mac McPhee
playing the big Sousaphone and
Der Sills and Chester McNall on
the E flat basses. In front of them
were the altos with Malcolm
(Mac) McLeod - Mac had been
playing for about 40 years at that
time and still kept at it even with
his false teeth. He used to put
small rectangular black pieces in
his mouth and for some time
thought it was tobacco until
someone told me that they were
pieces of rubber designed to keep
his teeth from dropping down. It
is too bad he never had an
opportunity of using some of
these marvellous televised aids.
Next to Mac was Russell Bolton,
his brother Louis, then Jack
Habkirk, Bill Trewartha and me.
Bass Drum
In the corner t the back was
Gibby Reeves on bass drum.
Harry Hinchely and tiny Parkes
on snare drum and along the west
wall was the clarinet section of
Davey Gemmel], whose favourite
was "Devil's Dream"; the
Snow on brothers Cyril, Oswald
and Je , Eugene Duncan, Ed
Daly, and the two Picks Bad Boys
- Sam Rennie and John CArdno.
These latter two were always
giving nick names to kids around
town including the one of
"Putt-Putt" that they gave to me.
The last but by no means least
person next to the clarinets was
Gar Sillery on piccolo.
Through the years personnel
was continually changing but that
band alw^ays maintained a
nucleus that was augmented by
fellows like Keith Sharp, Walter
Scott, Harry Pethick, Fred Willis,
Basil Duncan, some fellows from
Hensall and some from Blyth as
well as a host of others not
mentioned.
Any'Instrument
After Billy Freeman gave up
the band the next leader was Al
Close. Here was a man who could
play practically any instrument.
He learned his milsic by playing
the hen scratches used for notes
on the musical score for
vaudeville shows in Stratford.
Five of his brothers played in the
famous Guy Brothers Band so he
came by his ability honestly. Al
was also a lacrosse player and
Seaforth lured him away from
Galt where he played trombone
for the Galt Kiltie Band. Al
always claimed he could play a
coronet that was hanging from a
string because he only used lip
pressure. He also read his notes 3
bars ahead of what he was
playing and this is a remarkable
feat. When you were marching on
the street there was no one who
could lift you along like Al on his
coronet because his lips never
tired.
Al led the band until the
second World War when the band
lost most of its members. he then
formed the Seaforth Boys and
Girls Band and the fairer sex
entered the brass band picture for
'the first time. These girls proved
very proficient and quickly
showed that they were in to stay.
Some of them were Alice McIver,
Beth Campbell, Marjorie
McKenzie, Marian LilIlco, Diane
Mowat and later the Hae.kwell
Girls, Audrey and June and Doris
Johnston. Some of the boys were
George Hildebrand, Bob Scott,
Oliver and Les Pryce and Gord
Pullman, The Flannigan, boys
Gord Rowland, the Willis boys
and Jim Sills, plus a host of others
all played their part in succeeding
years.
In the 1950's Al Close left to
take over the Goderich Band and
he was succeeded here by Stan
Smith who had originally moved
here to play the organ at the
Presbyterian Church. He was one
of the originals in what became
the famous R.C.A.F. #1 Air
Command Band. After Stan came
Ernie Whetton, an Englishman
who learned his trade in the
Collier Bands of Britain before
coming to Canada. After a stint in
B.C. he joined the famous
Millionaires Band of Huntsville.
This band was the pet of a local
millionaire, who liked music so
much that he hired the entire
clarinet section from Sous's Band
in the States.
Ernie died in harness and was'
followed by Lyle Hammond of
London who successfully
converted himself from trombone
to cornet. He was also an
accomplished organist and pianist
and played the orga_n for the
Egmondville United Church. Lyle
stayed with us for several years
until the call of the wild lured him
to a government job in Baffin
Island.
ft was becoming harder and
harder to keep the young folks
interested in band work - as many
as forty might start in the winter
classes but when summer came
around you were lucky to keep 2
or 3 to stay with you. The pull of
T.V.,, organized ball games,
summer cottages , all seemed to
entice them away. Combine this
with the fact that the older
uniforms had become shabby and
some members were
embarrassed about wearing them
out on parade.
Quietly Folded
As a result the old band quietly
folded and it has dnly been these
last couple of years that a young
oldster by the name of Dr.
Charles Toll has been attempting
to revive it. Doc has boundless
energy ,so there is no telling what
might happen. No doubt the call
of T.V. has waned a certain
amount and if the right man can
hit the right time I feel that brass
bands will come back into their
own.
All this time we have been
talking about brass bands but
there is another band that has
been carrying Seaforth's name to
many points of the province and
that is the High School Trumpet
Band.
George •Hildebrand became
leader and has led it ever since
except for a year when Nancy
Berger was the leader. George
has enlarged the band threefold
and added quite a large colour
party. With their precision
marching and smart appearance
they have been an attraction at all
local functions and over the last
10 years they have been a
favourite at all the International
Plowing Matches in the province.
The members are very loyal. 1
know because four of our
daughters have, been in it and a
fifth hopes to get in next year.
Over the years they have filled a
gap in our musical requirements,
especially in all the parades that
are so much a part of every
community.
Brass Band
It is to be hoped that a Brass
band will also come to the fore
and a rising generation can enjoy
that feeling of comradeship that is
so much a part of a musical group
that loves to harmonize. The close.
associations that ar e formed
there are never lost and the quiet
chuckles that come from
reminiscing about various
happenings within the band are
an everlasting source of
enjoyment.
Socks
For instance, the time after a
Warriors Day 'Parade in toronto,
brother Der and I had" a terrible
time dissuading a member front
buying a milk horse hitched to a
cart in the C.N.E. grounds - or the
time after a service at the
Cenotaph Walter ,Stott never
noticed the pine stump cut off just
at the height that caught the
bottom of his bass drum and
rolled him right upon topof it like
a cork - or the time Ernie Box
picked up Harold Free's alto horn
to show him how to blow it and
never noticed Harold had been
chewing on some of Chris,
Cheoros' famous sticky candy - or
the Englishman who complained
to me as a Property Chairman
that his socks didn't have any feet
in them - kiltie socks never do - or
the many times some' innocent
came on parade with spats on the
wrong feet or kilts on back to front
- or the time the head came off the
drum stick in Brussels and almost
beaned a spectator - or the fellow
in a kilt that had to be boosted up
on the back shed roof to the
bedroom window because his wife
seemed to have forgotten that he
.,was still out - or the Garden Party
in Sebringville when they had a
race for the band members and
the fellow who came fourth got 15
cents but it cost him five dollars to
have the cinders taken out, of his
knees and hands .when he fell at
the finish line - or the fellow that
borrowed the snare drum so he,
could go down to Little Scotland
and serenade his girl friend.
There are some that I recall and
I know there are a host of other -
happenings that other members
recall.
It was a real privtig; to join
the band and the person,
who did so never forgot it.
Memories are happenings that
OMIT under certain
circumstances. Fortunately they
are often happy ones that give
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6—THE HURON EXPOS1TOR,JUNE 26, 1975