The Huron Expositor, 1979-04-05, Page 5Here',e 'Nelson Howe, in, One of Wel most' familiar pose$.
winder his Phil).
with a ,fiddle
«Continued :front Page i}
feet. The •lessexperienced dancers, Some',
times lose their timing part way through a
number', ;and if the fiddler is keeping{ his
eye .on, .the dancer's feet, he canspeed up
the rirusic to ]seep time with the dancer.
fine of the disadvantages of .accompany-
ing stepdancers is .the monotony since
,in:any request the same tune, ,'.and you get
'splaying it that often, yea stumble over it.
Nelson. rementbers One year at the Mount
Forest. Fair when he was playing for 25
stepdance competitors, and 3 ' of the
dancers asked for the same tune,
"They, say Practice snakes perfect,. ;lw,t,
inayl+o upto a point~, and then it doesn'tt'
the fiddler,said. '
Among tri- favorite songs. of stepdancets`
are tunes like Whalen's. Breakdown, Angus
Campbell and Billy Wilson's Clog. Where
the tunes originated, nobody knows,
Nelson Howe said Lila Storey once tried to
find out who composed the songs originally
but the information is lost in the mists pf
it .time. •
'A;.`': Annie Howe,, Nelson's wife, said. there
was a time when there was a dance to go
with every tune, ,but;�those days are also
behind us.
6ThI,PETITIONS
Over the year's' Mr, Rowe has, tested,his:
fiddling. ability iii old tyme fiddlers"
competitions from. Toronto. to Ripley to
Fergus.
He said some of the earliest competitions
-he entered were held in Mitchell and
Russelldale in the 1930's. Then in the
.1 ;1950(s, the.competitions really, caught on,
and (Nelson Howe has competed at the
Shelburne Fiddlers' ' Contest, the Royal
Winter Fair and the Toronto. Exhibition.
Fiddlers are judged on accuracy :of
Store, timing,. tone, selection as well as style and
• bowing. Some of the trophies. Nelson Howe
has collected over the years today sit on top
of the cupboard that holds his eight fiddles,.
' The ;fiddles are a very special legacy
from some of Mr. Howe's fellow music
ians. He purchased only one of the.
instruments, and the rest were left or given
to him by other old tyme fiddlers in the
area. -
One was owned by an. old friend of his,
and ` Nelson Howe had tried to buy they`
fiddle once, but his friend refused to part
witty.it. Then one day,. he told his. wife,
"When l die, 1' want Nelson Howe to have.
my fiddle." The man died the same, day
and his family presented the-instrument"to
Mr. Howe.
Although music has always been an
important part Of his, life, . Nelson Howe
l: never considered leaving the farmand.
trying to earn his living as a musician. it's
been a`: hobby, not a money ;maker.
Nevertheless, sometimes it has seemed
Mr. Howe is away as many nights as a .FredHarburn t)biigi�gty h0ids''thie
Ina Finlayson gives
Staffa.
Nelson a helping hand in Sadler's General
Fiddlers Fred! Harburn and Nelson Howe of Staffa (back row) and Elwood
Matthews and Archie Mann Of Listowel playingat a surprise birthday
party : for Alec. Buchanan:
HQ`
the older dance tunes are suit appreciated,
Annie Howe said her husband is still
away lets of nights, and, he advice to
young girls is "fpr goodness sake. ,don't
marry a musician or you.11 never have' him
home!"' ,,
Back in the 1950's;Nelson Howe and
some fellow musicians expanded their field;
and Vrcnt to the scab . for talent program.
on CPFL: radio. Ea h night ihey placed
among the top- three winners. and finally
on the sixth. week of the»show, they were
declared overall winners, Their prize -
about SS apiece. In the meantime, Mrs,
Hgwe and their[' three daughters did the
farm chore' so':ivlr too .'e'couid' pursue
second career.
---NOV while Nelson :Howe is perha
better known for his fiddling, hes al lit
�en aimember of the Clinton Pipe Band,
for the last 35; years. And, if he had, his
choice, he'd rather, play the bagpipes than
the ,fiddle eve .-though ""Fpil not Scotch,
only in some a�+ )111" k . .
. Mr, Howe also picked the bagpipesVp
partly nn 'his uwn and still plays them in a
' left-handed s yle of his, own, the opposite
way most pipers play' the instrument.
For anyone considering taking up the
piper's art, Mr. Howe warns he under-
stands it takes seven nears under the best
teaching you can get before you can be
considered a good piper.
Music, which has always been a past-
time for Nelson Howe, is "hard work" now
he says, He and: his wife have retired from
farming; and Mr, Howe, doesn't enter as
many competitions as he once did.
However, you. can still hear Nelson
Howe's expert fiddling at the' Staffa, •hall,
professional musician -playing;' fat''' step. while Nelson, plays..
dancers or at wedding anniversaries where •
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THE ':HURON!' EXPOSIT
R, APRIL ;5,. ilii;
dances, held every month. The dances,
which feature old time- • waltzes,Jos trots,
the four step, and :other golden tunes,
attract dancers from 00; :fat away ,as
Stratford. London and Mount Brydges.
Mr.. Howe plays-for;A,tLie dances with:
fellow .musicians, Hugh, Norris, a banjo .
;player, Ivan Norris, Who handles the guitar
andallff Tor the Square dancers; andpiattistlarlori ohns•
This cumin, , Nelsc.. owe will again' be
PlayjnR'hNO,f'amiliar clogs and jigs and reels
. Ni.D try,
for. stepdance comp. etitions and! walb.es,
and foxtrots for :weddings an4 anniver-
saries. He doesn't entertain at as, Many
dances a$ he i nce did - ",the young people.
don't want .our kind of music, they want
something loud and noisy."
But even though musical taste,$ may be
changing, as long a$ there are fiddlers in
Perth. and .Huron counties, people will he
talking about the .nosier Of Nelson Howe•
That's pretty. gond ,. for someone whit's
learned all his tunes by ear
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