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