Bowing Down Home Oral History Transcripts

File: mcpheehugh-oh-gettingstarted_M.mp3

Speakers

HM – Hughie McPhee

KP – Curator Ken Perlman

KP How old were you before you started playing a lot?

HM Oh I must've been 25 or so. Like I said before, there was nobody to play for dances and they

File: macdonaldallan06-oh-gettingstarted_M.mp3

Speakers:

AM – Allan MacDonald

KP You said you started at 15? How did you get started on the fiddle?

AM Oh I don't know. I was playing guitar and playing guitar, and just one day I said, "I think I could play the

File: quinnmerlin06-oh-schoolcommittees_M.mp3

Speakers:

MQ – Merlin Quinn

CW – Carl Webster

KP – Curator Ken Perlman

KP: Who exactly – Every community had its school dances and some had church benefits. Who actually organized those?

CW: For the

File: arsenaultedwardp-oh-gettingstarted_M.wav

Speakers:

EPA: Edward P Arsenault

MA: Marie Arsenault

KP: Curator Ken Perlman

406 KP: You said that you didn't take up the fiddle right away...

EPA: I was 32 years old, and that's a bad mistake. She bought me

File Name: albertjoe06-oh-gettingstarted_stepdancing_M.mp3

Speakers:
JA: Joe Albert

IA: Ivan Albert

KP: Ken Perlman

KP: Joe, how old were you when you started to play the fiddle?

JA: How

File: leckyharry06_withrcook-oh-weddings_dances_M.mp3

Speakers:

HL – Harry Lecky

RC – Roland Cook

KP – Curator Ken Perlman

HL: Yhe weddings, at our church it'd be in the morning, and generally a party that night

KP: What was the party

File: johnstoneroy06-oh-fiddlingin70s_M.mp3

Speakers:

RJ – Roy Johnstone

KP: Curator Ken Perlman

RJ: I moved here in '78, yeah.

KP: What was the state of Island fiddling [then]?

RJ: Coming from Winnipeg where there wasn't

File: macdougallherb06-oh-houseparties_M.mp3

Speakers:

HM – Herb MacDougall

KP – Curator Ken Perlman

HM: We would have what we'd call house parties

KP: At your house?

HM: At our house, yes. So my mother would probably prepare for a day or

File: hallidayjimmy-oh-endofera_M.mp3

Speakers

JH – Jimmy Halliday

EM – Eddie Martin

KP – Curator Ken Perlman

KP When did the house parties start to go down?

JH When they started to put carpet on, I guess Eddie was it? No, People are pretty

File: wedgeclifford-oh-houseparties_M.mp3

Speakers:

CW – Clifford Wedge

CW: People would come over at night. There was no radio then. There was no television. There was nothing. Just people sitting down, they'd play the violin and sing songs. They'd just have an evening.

KP:

File Name: albertjoe06-oh-houseparties_M.mp3

Speakers:

KP: curator Ken Perlman

JA: Joe Albert

IA: Ivan Albert

KP: Did they used to have a lot of house parties and such?

JA: We used to have them all when we were up west, Holy…

KP: What were

File: raffertyervin06-oh-houseparties_M.mp3

Speakers:

ER – Ervan Rafferty

ER: Oh yeah, the house parties. Quite often you'd have the house parties too, especially in the wintertime, break up the winter. Christmas time was a great getting' together. People would go to

File: maccannellneil-oh-houseparties_M.mp3

Speakers:

NM – Neil MacCannell

KP – Curator Ken Perlman

KP What was a house party like in those days?

NM Well, people gathered and fiddlers set up in a corner, Usually with a guitar player as accompaniment

File: macleandanny-oh-houseparties_M.mp3

Speakers:

DM – Danny MacLean

KP – Curator Ken Perlman

KP: How often would they be having house parties in the Eldon area when you were growing up?

DM: Well there was pretty near always a party somewhere pretty near

File Name: hallidayjimmy-oh-houseparties_M.mp3

Speakers:

JH-Jimmy Halliday

KP- Ken Perlman (curator)

JM-Jimmy Martin (accompanist)

KP When you used to play for the old house parties- how did you find out that they wanted you to play at a house party?

JH They'd ask

File: sigsworthcosmas-oh-houseparties_dances_M.mp3

Speakers

CS – Cosmas Sigsworth

KP – Curator Ken Perlman

KP: Could you give us an idea of what a typical house party would be like from start to finish?

CS: Well, not any different that any other I suppose. People were

File: farrellleo06-oh-houseparties_M.mp3

Speakers:

LF – Leo Farrell

KP – Curator Ken Perlman

KP: Tell me about the house dances in your community?

LF: Well, put the table in the woodshed or outside in the summertime, haul the chairs all out and

File: mcpheeangus-oh-districtdances_M.mp3

Speakers

AM – Angus MacPhee

AM Well, there used to be all kinds of house dances at that time in schools. That's all pretty much done away with now. There were only small schools, one room schools, and they'd have dances there through the year

File: hancockharold06-oh-houseparties_M.mp3

Speakers:

HH- Harold Hancock

NG – Norman Gillis

HH: They were the best ones really, was the house parties. I remember one time there was a dance up at Angus Beaton's. Remember they built a stage up there; it was Margaret

File: chaissonkenny-oh-houseparties_M.mp3

Speakers:

KC – Kenny Chaisson

KP – Curator Ken Perlman

KC The house parties used to be really enjoyable.

KP What, what were they like, can you describe them?

KC Oh, you'd be in a room there, and

File: chaissonkevin-oh_musicneverdies_M.mp3

Speakers:

KC – Kevin Chaisson

KC: But you get such tremendous satisfaction. It just makes my day when I see the kids play and you see them progressing all the time, eh? That's your payment. That's your payment. Before I'm gone, I hope by-

File: raffertyervin06-oh-changesafterwar_M.mp3

Speakers:

ER – Ervan Rafferty

KP – Curator Ken Perlman

KP - When did the house parties and square dances such begin to decline in this area?

ER: I guess probably after the war, maybe shortly after

File: sigsworthcosmas-oh-gettingstarted_marriage_M.mp3

Speakers:

CS – Cosmas Sigsworth

KP – Curator Ken Perlman

KP: Did you grow up in a musical household?

CS: Not really. My mother was musical; she played the organ; but there was nobody in the immediate family that

File: macintyrestewart-oh-radio_M.mp3

Speakers:

LM – Stewart MacIntyre

KP – Curator Ken Perlman

LM: Learned the tunes – My father knew every tune, Scotch or Irish tune, that ever existed, because he used to listen to this Stephen Campbell, and he played them out of a book, you

File: macdonaldallan06-oh-hectorsdancehall_M.mp3

Speakers:

AM – Allan MacDonald

KP – Curator Ken Perlman

AM: And then when I was 15, we cut for the Hall, the Dance Hall we had back here – Dad and I cut the wood together one winter with the buck saw and the axe and the old horse

File: macdonaldallan06-oh-hectorsfiddling.mp3

Speakers:

AM – Allan MacDonald

AM: He [Hector MacDonald] had a nice rhythm, everybody loved his fiddling.

KP: What did they like about his fiddling?

AM: Well, beautiful dance fiddling,

File: macdonaldpaul-oh- heartvstechnique_M.mp3

Speakers:

PM – Paul MacDonald

PM: The funny thing about traditional fiddle music on Prince Edward Island is that you can go listen to a fiddler and his technique is, he's got hardly any technique at all, but he's so full of music and

File: wightelliott-oh-donmesser_M.mp3

Speakers:

EW – Elliott Wight

KP – Curator Ken Perlman

EW That's right. At that time we had no electricity in our house and we used to have a battery radio. And we could only turn it on to hear the news and to hear Don

File: morrisseyjohnny-oh-gettingstarted_M.mp3

Speakers:

JM – Johnny Morrissey

KP – Curator Ken Perlman

KP: How old were you when you took up the fiddle?

JM Oh I guess I was about 15 or 16. I've been playing that long and [inaudible]. I played for the first dance in Iona

File: macdougalljim06-oh-lovesfiddlemusic_M.mp3

Speakers:

JM – Jim MacDougall

KP – Curator Ken Perlman

JM But I always loved it: fiddle music. If you don't like it you'll never be able to play it.

KP: What do you like about fiddle music?

File: maccormackfrancis06-oh-familydiscovery.mp3

Speakers:

FM – Francis MacCormack

FM: They came home from the army one time, my three oldest brothers. They came home from the Army. Of course as you probably know, a little bit of moonshine was flowin' around; they got into that. My

File: macdonaldpaul-oh-hardvibrato_M.mp3

Speakers:

PM – Paul MacDonald

KP – Curator Ken Perlman

PM: But the most common one used is vibrato in Scottish music. That's the most common.

KP: Explain...

PM: That's just the classical

File: stewartbud06-oh-dancehalls_M.mp3

Speakers:

BS – Bud Stewart

KP – Curator Ken Perlman

KP: What was life like growing up on a farm.

BS: Not that great, not easy. There wasn't a lot of money but everybody was pretty much in the same boat. We didn't

File: gauthierjohn06-oh-greatunclecharlie_M.mp3

Speakers:

JG – John Gauthier

JG: I was playing to the wedding, this was about 1946 or 47, of a cousin of mine in Rustico. I took a break, and went inside - They had built a stage out in the farm yard. I went in

File: hancockharold06-oh-familyorigin_M.mp3

Speakers:

HH – Harold Hancock

KN: Keith Nicholson

HH: Well the Hancocks immigrated up from the states. Actually my grandfather deserted off an American sailing ship in Charlottetown Harbor, and in those days

File: macdonaldpaul-oh-gracenotes_M.mp3

Speakers:

PM – Paul MacDonald

KP – Ken Perlman

Pm: Grace notes, which you've seen before is just an addition

Demonstrates Grace Notes

KP: So is it just a little cut or is it?

File: stewartarchie-oh-playinglively.mp3

Speaker:

AS - Archie Stewart

AS: You get some kind of a message from your music through the people. I've seen this happen. I've seen at a dance hall where the people would be all sittin' around and nobody would be up dancin', and the thing'd

File: mackenziesheila06-oh-gettingstarted_M.mp3

Speakers:

SM – Sheila MacKenzie

KP – Curator Ken Perlman

SM: I started step-dancing probably – I know I was 5, and that sort of came – Again the music was always on the radio or a record would be on and I would try to dance. Then I

File: wilsonteresa06group-oh-gaelicsinging_M.mp3

Speakers:

TW – Teresa MacPhee Wilson

TW: When Jim would come to our place we'd see him coming. We'd get all geared up a whole bunch of kids. "Sing a song for us Jim." First he'd say, "No!." Then, the next thing you know, "How about

File: chaissonjj06-oh-fiddlingsurvival_M.mp3

Speakers

JC – JJ Chaisson

KP – Curator Ken Perlman

JC: There's an awful lot of people playing fiddle now, than there was five or ten years ago, 15 years ago. There's an awful lot of young people that have shown interest, fiddle

File: chaissontimothy06-oh-fiddlingtoday_M.mp3

Speakers:

TC – Timothy Chaisson

TC: Fifteen years ago they didn't really know if we were even going to pursue fiddle music at all, and I think they were really worried because at the time they didn't know if it was going to keep going..

File: arsenaultrobert06-oh-professionalization_M.mp3

Speakers:

RA: Robert Arsenault

KP: Ken Perlman

RA: In terms of where's the music going .We were talking last time that traditional music was essentially through kitchen parties in the home, sometimes at the

File: westprincefiddlers-oh-foundinggroup_M.mp3

Speakers:

JA: Jack Arbing

GO: George O'Connor, Kildare Capes [fid]

ER: Elmer Robinson,

DR: Dorothy Dalton Rogers

LT: Lee Thompson

KP – Curator Ken Perlman

JA George O'Cponnor

File: macdonaldfaber-oh-foundingfiddlerssociety_M.mp3

Speakers:

FM – Rev. Faber MacDonald

FM I simply got the inspiration or the idea one day that it might be a good idea to bring the fiddlers together, to bring together as many fiddlers as we could find that we knew played at

File: doironpeter-oh-pcfiddlers_M.mp3

Speakers:

PD - Peter Doiron

KP Curator Ken Perlman

KP: Were you in on the Prince County Fiddlers right from the beginning?

PD Prince County, yes. We had out little meeting in a barber shop here when we first decided to join

File: cheveriecharles-oh-foundingfiddlerssociety_contests_M.mp3

Speakers:

CC – Fr. Charles Cheverie

In 1975, Faber MacDonald, the priest for our diocese, along with Joe Chaisson –And Joe and Fr. Faber wrote to all the fiddlers they knew at that time on the Island to gather at St.

File: mcpheehugh06-oh-forerunners_M.mp3

Speakers:

HM – Hughie McPhee

KP – Curator Ken Perlman

KP: Were people talking about forerunners in your time?

HM: Oh yeah there were lots of forerunners.

KP: Can you tell me about what forerunners

File: doucettejoe-oh-bowing,findingnotes.mp3

Speakers:

JD – Joe Doucette

KP – Curator Ken Perlman

KP: When you were six years old and just taking up the fiddle, did your father show you anything on the fiddle?

JD: NO, anymore than he told me that to start [with]

File: cheveriecharles06-oh-future_M.mp3

Speakers:

CC – Fr. Charles Cheverie

KP – Curator Ken Perlman

CC: I think it's going to flourish. There's enough interest in younger players that they will develop. Again, you're going to get all kinds of players that will play at it as

File: bergeronhelene-oh-kitchenparties.mp3

Speakers:

HB – Helene Arsenault Bergeron

HB: Yes, I'm very partial to my father's fiddling. It's the reason that I started dancing in the first place. Because it's the most danceable fiddling that I know of. The kitchen parties

File: macleandanny-oh-goodfiddler_M.mp3

Speakers:

DM – Danny MacLean

KP – Curator Ken Perlman

KP: what do you think makes a good fiddler? If you hear a fellow play, what about his music would stand out for you?

DM: What do you think makes him a good fiddler?

File: morrisonrita-oh--womanfiddling_M.mp3

Speakers:

RM – Rita Morrison

KP – Curator Ken Perlman

RM But they weren't encouraged as much maybe, were they?

KP I don't know! What do you think?

RM Well, it's like everything else now. There'

File: robinsonelmer92-oh-musicalbackground_M.mp3

Speakers:

ER –Elmer Robinson

KP – Curator Ken Perlman

KP: Did you grow up in Woodstock?

ER: No, about 15 miles down the road here: Mount. Pleasant. Been up here fabout 20 years.

KP: Do you come from

File: doucettevictor06-oh-fathersrole_M.mp3

Speakers:

VD – Victor Doucette

Victor: I was in Ontario for a few years and then started to play it [the fiddle] up there again and started to fool around with it. But then when I got home and got married in the late 70s, then

File: macdonaldward06-oh-professionalopportunities_M.mp3

Speakers:

WM – Ward MacDonald

I think it's a combination of things: just the time right now, the time we're in right now. It's very easy to make a CD, any player that's trying to go anywhere has a website and they put a press kit

File: leardwarren92-oh-flourmill_M.mp3

Speakers:

WL – Warren Leard

KP: 1925. And I was told you own a mill, a flour mill.

WL: Yes, I have the only mill left on Prince Edward Island. That's a custom flour mill. We do grinding for the farmers, and I'm the third generation. My

File: macdonaldfaber-oh-thegift_M.mp3

Speakers:

FM – Rev Faber MacDonald

FM: I used to talk about the social nature of the gift. See, the gifts, God's gifts, are given to us not for ourselves. No! They're entrusted to us for everybody. And the human person, when he engages himself

File: cousinsjohn-oh-thegift_M.mp3

Speakers:

JC – John Cousins

JC: To become a fiddler, to become a good fiddler the term everyone used ad nauseum was "It was a gift." It was a gift; you were given this gift. And people said it sincerely. Only a few people were given this gift, but

File: arsenaultrobert-oh-fiddlersrepcultures_M.mp3

Speakers

RA: Robert Arsenault

RA: A fiddler carries his own level of feeling with him when he plays. A fiddler when he plays he plays with his body. A fiddler is a dancer and his whole entire body plays. You stop a fiddler from

File: albertjoe06-oh-musichome_lent_frolics_M.wav

Speakers

KP: curator Ken Perlman

JA: Joe Albert

IA: Ivan Albert

IA: Me and Joe's brothers but we got 12 brothers between us, between the two of us 10 others and we got 12 sisters. And we got 18 livin', and pretty much all