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HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Huron Expositor, 1990-09-26, Page 23THE HURON EXPOSITOR. OCTOBER 3, 1900-3 DANCING THE NIGHT AWAY - The Edelweiss Trio entertain at the Black Forest Inn, Conestoga, and when they play everybody gets up to enjoy a dance. From left: Ivan Nielsen on guitar, Eric Hatzenbuhler on accordian, and band leader Fred Schoenherr on drums. Oxford photo. Music man makes people het u BY SUSAN OXFORD People around the world, from Kitchener to Munich, are gearing up for Oktoberfest festivities and one Seaforth musician is no exception. Once Oktoberfest is officially here Ivan Nielsen will don his leder- hosen, pick up his guitar and make festive music for revellers to back- drop their fun with. After Oktober- fest Ivan will continue to play his music for people who can't let go of that festive feeling. Edelweiss Trio is the band Ivan is part of. Their repertoire is all music from waltzes to country, and polka to pop. The extremely popular Trio plays clubs around southwestern Ontario and has to be booked al- most a year in advance. This year the Trio is featured at Kitchener's original Oktoberfest Fest Hall the Concordia Club for the entire week of festivities. Ivan was born in a small town in northern Denmark 53 years ago and spent his childhood in a 300 -year- old homestead house four miles from the North Sea. Denmark was invaded by the Germans early in the Second World War and Ivan remembers a whole regiment of German soldiers wanting water in his father's backyard. The Germans stayed in the little Danish town and a curfew of 9:00 p.m. was on the whole country. Lights had to be out at that time, although most people just blacked out the light from their windows with black blinds. Ivan remembers the first time he saw a bicycle with three speeds and it was owned by German soldiers and the soldiers let Ivan borrow the bicycle. There were 5 million people in Denmark and they didn't have much of an army, however, the Danish people were able to put up their own resistance to the Ger- mans. In front of the palace in Copenhagen the Germans raised a swastika flag, and it was promptly removed by a Danish palace guard. The Germans raised their flag a second time and it was again removed by a Danish soldier. The Germans said the next soldier to remove the swastika would die. King Christian X, King of Den- mark, told the Germans "I'm the next soldier." The King hoisted down the swastika and put up the Danish flag, and it stayed up. Despite the war and the food rationing and other hardships it brought, Ivan had as normal a childhood as could be expected. When he was five -years -old his father taught him to play har- monica. Ivan's father played violin and arranged for Ivan to take les- sons in violin. The -lessons lasted for two years before Ivan quit them in favour of playing by ear. During his teens Ivan was a busy young person with school and his music interest. In trade school he spent three years studying accoun- ting and after graduation worked as a town clerk with town affairs, shipping and foreign currency in a Danish town. Musically Ivan was also growing and learning more. At 16 -years -of - age he played violin with his first band The Arizona Boys. Today Ivan has scrapbooks full of memories from all his years in music. Some of the photos show him as a youth wearing a cowboy hat, boots and tie and holding his violin in front of bandstand signs he made. The 'country' band played American country music and did Mario Lanza impersonations. In the early 1950's the violin was on its way out in popular music and Ivan decided he'd like to learn guitar. He went to the Salvation Army and bought a guitar for $2 and taught himself to play it from sheet music. It was 1957 when Ivan went professional in the music business with the Cocktail Trio . He began playing Copenhagen nightclubs at European hours, 11 p.m. to 5 a.m., seven nights a week on six-month long contracts. Publicity photos of Ivan show a handsome young man smiling a stage smile and holding a blue, glitter -studded guitar. During the 1950's to the early 1970's is considered by some to be the golden age of polka and the dance music was loved by almost everybody. The polka inspired COCKTAIL TRIO READY TO ENTERTAIN - This Trio, with Ivan Nielsen featured on blue glittery guitar in the centre, played nightclubs in Copenhagen. They played from eleven in the evening until five in the moming. Liquor offence fines are up "The Liquor Licence Act RSO 1980 C.244" as amended has been repealed and replaced by the "L- iquor Licence Act 1990", and in keeping with the changes new fines have been approved by Chief Judge Sidney B. Linden. Most of chest. fines arc double what they were previously. In order to ensure that Seaford) residents are informed of the increased penalties, Seaforth Police Chief Hal Claus has pmvided The Expositor with a list of the more common offences and their cor- responding penalties Section 30(8) makes it an offence for a person under 19 to have, purchase, attempt to purchase or to consume liquor and the penalty for an offender is $103.75. Section 31(2) concerning the consumption of liquor in other than a licenced premises, residence, or private place will also have a set fine of S103.75. Section 31(4) concerns being intoxicated in a public place and will now cost $53.75. Section 32(1) makes it an offence to drive a motor vehicle, a motorized snow vehicle. or operate a boat with an open bottle or pack- age of liquor nearby, and will cost the offender $123.75. Section 34(6) pertains to those individuals who have been asked to leave a licenced premises and refuse or re-enter after having been removed. They will be subject to a fine of S103.75. Section 29 makes it an offence for someone to supply, sell, or permit liquor to be soli or supplied to an intoxicated person. or to an apparently intoxicated person. No set fine has been established for these offences. The offender must and dance polka parties, dances and polka dots. All over the world people danced the polka and it was taught in schools as part of physical education. Ivan and his bands played the popular music and also popular contemporary music of the day. Music took Ivan to southern Den- mark and nightclubs and cliental that were more exclusive. Some of the engagements required the band to wander table to table playing requests for diners. Wearing pigskin shorts, Ivan played with the best trio he'd heard, the Rudi Schuricke at the Sailor Town nightclub. Rudi could sing in 8 languages and played 11 instruments. By this time Ivan could speak four languages. The music business lead Ivan and his band to one of the most beautiful bar he played in Europe in Hamburg, Germany, in 1959. The club had a marble staircase, gold railings, plush carpets and velvet chairs. Ivan played there two weeks and was received by the crowd so well he was asked to stay another two weeks. After the month Ivan presented the nightclub owner with his bill and the owner told Ivan he was broke. Ivan called the police and they found the owner to be telling the truth and the owner was bankrupt. While he played the Hamburg nightclub Ivan and his band had become friends with the Persian Consul in Germany as he was a regular guest in the nightclub. The band would play the Consul's favourite song `Fascination' as soon as he entered for dinner. One evening he invited the band out to dinner and had a limousine pick them up at the nightclub and wined and dined them. Another nightclub Ivan remem- bers is the Exotica in Mannheim with real trees inside, stuffed rep- tiles and monkeys swinging mechanically from the trees. The walls were moving pictures of Polynesians and canoes and Ivan recalls that it truly was exotic. Ever increasing the scope of the band's music, Ketty Knudsen joined the band and brought with her a viberphone which is like an xylophone with metal keys. Ivan, by this time, had guitars, violins, mandolin and a Hawaiian guitar and the band became the Orla Hoyer Quartet. They headed to southern Denmark from Mannheim by car, sending their most of their instruments by train. After travel- ling all night by car they arrived to find their instruments hadn't arrived and had to go on stage shortly. They managed with what they had rather well before finishing the night and going off to find their luggage and instruments. a- beware appear in court where the judge will determine the amount of the fine upon conviction. Section 30(2) makes it an offence to supply or sell liquor to a person under 19 years of age. Section 30(4) makes it an offence to permit a person apparently under 19 years of age to consume or to have liquor. There are no out of - court settlements for offences under Section 30(2) and (4). "Armed with this knowledge. I trust our citizens will heed the pmvisio ns of the new legislation as it pertains to liquor," said Claus IVAN AND KETTY played nightclubs in Denmark and Germany with the Orta Hoyer Quartet. The Russians invaded Hungary in 1960 and the band raised a large amount of money for the Hun- garians by playing in the streets. That same year Ivan's life changed forever when an old friend, Sonja who had moved to Canada, came back to Denmark for a visit and went to a nightclub Ivan was playing in to see him. Sonja stayed at Ivan's parents home for one year while Ivan continued to tour Den- mark. They married and moved to Canada to live in Seaforth where Sonja's parents were living. Ivan still continued to play his music and his first canadian engagement was at the Seaforth Fall Fair. He was heard there by a musician and asked to join the Town and Country Gentleman and began his touring of Ontario. He picked up the violin again, which was now a fiddle, and played barn dances, square dances, 1 egions and the Vanastra Army dances on weekends. Homesickness overcame Ivan two years later and he took Sonja and their two young sons back to Den- mark and found work in a Volvo plant. He couldn't find an apartment for them as the real estate boom had already hit Europe hard. After six months the family returned to Seaforth and settled and had two more children - twins. Upon his return Ivan joined with the Parisianns before joining the Continentals. With the Continentals he wore gold lame and wore a Mexican sombrero on stage and IVAN NIELSEN with that band played the first Ok- toberfest in Kitchener at the Con- cordia Club in 1968. And he's been on the road ever since. His newest band, the Edelweiss Trio, has been together for 14 years and almost every weekend Ivan is somewhere in Ontario playing his music. It's gruelling work as he returns home after every performance and drives back the next night to play. Once the band drove to Dryden and it. took -them- 24 hours and they stayed for awhile. On any weekend evening Ivan can be seen driving his big yellow car headed to a nightclub somewhere to entertain people with his lively dance music and have a good time with them. COMMUNITY CALENDAR If patties ori al its -profit latent of Miami to other Saa:nth ane nsridarna, phone do raiartrrwian ogles $274002 or tine Expositor at 5474240, Or teal Oa latio rartaiAloat to Community Calendar, The Huron Expositor, sox leaforgt, Ontaeio, NOK 1W0 well in advertise at tiro schodulyd data. Pm Mating includes data, time, nee* a1 went and lasagna only. Spars tor the Cparwnfty Calendar to donated by The Huron Expose r. Wed., Oct. 3 1:30-4:00 p.m. - Senior Shuffle- board at the Arena 1:00-3:00 p.m. - Seniors Parents and Tots Skating 4:30-5:30 p.m. - Ringett• at the Arena 5:30-6:30 p.m. - Atoms Hockey practice at Arena 6:30-8:00 p.m. - Minor Broomball at Arena 8:00-9:00 p.m. - Fitness Is Fun at the Arena 8:00-10:30 p.m. - Ladles' Broomball at the Arena 8:00-10:00 p.m. - Recreational Volleyball at SDHS Thurs., Oct. 4 9:00-10:00 a.m. - Fitness 1s Fun at the Arena 12 noon • Book Club meets at Seaforth Library. Everyone wet- oome. 1:30 p.m. - Happy Sr. Citizen Monthly Meeting at Legion 5:30-6:30 p.m. - Bantam Hockey practice at Arena 6:30-8:00 p.m. - Minor Broomball at the Arena 7:00-9:00 p.m. - Wood Carving at the High School 8:00-10:00 p.m. - Mixed Basketball at the High School Fri., Oct. 5 4:30-5:30 p.m. - Petit•/Tween Ringette at the Arena 5:304:30 p.m. - Minor Hockey 6:30-7:30 p.m. - Minor Hockey 7:30-8:30 p.m. - Ringett• 8:30 p.m. - Centensires home open- er ve. Lambeth Sat. , Oct.6 9:30-10:30 a.m. - Power Skating (apes 64 veers) st SDCC 10:30-11:30 a.m. - Power Skating (apes 10-13 years) it :30-12:30 p.m. - Power Skating (14 and up) st SDCC 12:30-1:30 p.m. - Novice/Bunny RIngette at Arena 3:00-4:00 pin. - Novice Hockey 400-6:16 p.m. - Atom Hockey 5:15-7:00 p.m. - Pee Woo Hockey Sun., Oct. 7 1:30 p.m. • Port Stanley vs. Contsnair s 5:304:30 p.m. - Power Skating at SDCC (apes 6-9) 6:30-7:30 p.m. - Power Skating at SDCC (ages 10-13) 7:30-8:30 p.m. - Power Skating at SDCC (ages 14 and up) Mon., Oct. 8 9:00-10:00 a.m. - Power Skating at Arena (apes 6-0) 10:00-11:00 s.m. - Power Skating at Arena (ages 10-13) 11:00 a.m.-12 noon - Power Skating at Arena (apes 14 and up) 7:00-0:00 p.m. - Furniture Refinishing at High School 8:00-10:00 p.m. - Competitive Volleyball at High School Tues., Oct. 9 9:00-10:00 a.m. - Fitness Is Fun at the Arena 10:30 a.m.-12 noon - Senior - Parents and Tots Skating 7:004:00 p.m. - Power Skating at Arena (ages 6-0) 8:00 p.m. • Seaforth Hospital Auxiliary Meeting In Hospital Board Room. Please bring a Hallowe'en card and article for white elephant booth. 8:00 p.m. - Seaforth Women's Institute will hold their public relations meeting at the Orange Hall. 8:00-9:00 p.m. - Power Skating st Arena (ages 10-13) 9:00-10:00 p.m. - Power Skating at Arena (apes 14 and up) Wed., Oct. 10, 1:00-3:00 p.m. - Senior - Parents and Tots Skating 1:30-4:00 p.m. - Senior Shuffle- board at Arena 4:30-5:30 p.m. - Ring•tte Practice st the Arena 5:304:30 p.m. - Atom Hockey prac- tice rso-tice at Arena 6:304:00 p.m. - Minor Broombell st Arena 8:00-0:00 p.m. - Fitness Is Fun at Arena 8:00.10:30 p.m. - Ladles' Broornbatt at Arena 8:00-10:00 p m - Recreational Volleyball at SOHO 8:00 p.m. - Seaforth Horticultural flool•ty Meeting at the Vary 1.