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.