Bowing Down Home Oral History Transcripts

File: gotellwilfred-oh-dancing_M.mp3

Speakers:
WG – Wilfred Gotell

KP – Curator Ken Perlman

WG: But the old time dance, really, the old lancers, they died right out. This modern stuff come in. And it would be nice if it would come back again cause it was really a nice dance,

File: mcpheedan-oh-dances_M.mp3

Speakers:

DM – Dan McPhee

HM – Hughie McPhee (Dan's brother)

DM There'd be dances during the summertime; there'd be dances in the schoolhouses. They'd be trying to raise some money to…

HM Repairs and paintin'

File: dockendorffharold06-oh-playingfordances_M.mp3

Speakers:

HD – Harold Dockendorff

KP: Did your parents play music at all?

HD: No. There was no music in the family, except my youngest brother he learned to play the Hawaiian guitar with the steel bar. And I

File: macdonaldfrancis06-oh-districtdances_M.mp3

Speakers:

FM – Francis MacDonald

KP: Curator Ken Perlman

KP: Did you ever have house parties at your house?

FM: Yes, I remember them having some parties there, some wedding showers and dances in our home there

File: toolestephen-oh-dancesolddays_M.mp3

Speakers:

ST – Stephen Toole

ST: There was a lot of dances, see. The way the dances are today, they're all Saturday night dances, or maybe Thursday night, or maybe Friday night. They have their special night at some halls. Well, years ago

File - farrellleo06-oh-fiddlerpay_M.mp3

Speaker:

LF – Leo Farrell

KP – Curator Ken Perlman

LF: Farmed all my life except a few years. I farmed up through the 1940s. You know, I was pretty lucky. You're not in a hurry are you?

KP: No.

File: gauthierjohn06-oh-houseparties_fights_M.mp3

Speakers:

JG – John Gauthier

ID – Ivan Day

KP: Curator Ken Perlman

KP: Did they have house parties?

JG: Oh very much so, my earliest dances I played were house dances.

File: doironpeter-oh-housedances_M.mp3

Speakers:

PD – Peter Doiron

PD: There'd be house dances back then mostly. And if there were tea parties or picnics, they would have a stage outside where they would, I think,

charge so much to get on the stage. And they would dance

File: macinnisbillysenior06-oh-charlottetowndances_M.mp3

Speakers:

BM – Billy MacInnis Sr

KP – Curator Ken Perlman

BM: Oh, when I was a kid there was dances just about every night of the week.

KP: Where were these dances, what kind of places?

File: chipmangary-oh-roughdances_M.mp3

Speakers:
GC – Gary Chipman

GC: In some cases – There was one out in a place called Harrington, which is out towards Brackley, in that area. The barn's been torn down now, what it was was just a big hay barn. And it had a hay loft in it, and a

File: macdonaldpaul-oh-cutting_M.mp3

Speakers:

PM – Paul MacDonald

KP – Ken Perlman

KP Now what did they show you about cutting?

PM Okay. The first thing - This is a funny story; I don't know if I should say this on tape. I went to Cape Breton when I was

File: cranerobert06-oh-firsttune_M.mp3

Speakers:

RC – Robert Crane

KP – Curator Ken Perlman

KP: How old were you when you started to play the fiddle?

RC: I was pickin' at it at about 12 year old I guess.

KP: Do your remember how it

File: hughesemmett-oh-houseparties_weddings_M.mp3

Speakers:

EH - Emmett Hughes

KP – Curator Ken Perlman

KP What were the old house parties like? Did they take place in your house quite often?

EH Yes, they'd go from house to house, usually the

File: westprincefiddlers-oh-olddays_fights_M.mp3

Seated L-R:

JA: Jack Arbing

GO: George O'Connor

ER: Elmer Robinson

DR: Dorothy Dalton Rogers]

KP: Curator Ken Perlman

Speakers:

JA Used to be great fights at the dances.

File: macdonaldpaul-oh-compoundgracenotes_M.mp3

Speakers:

PM – Paul MacDonald

KP – Curator Ken Perlman

PM: Most times what you're actually dealing with is a grace note on a grace note, which is very tricky. That's what you're dealing with there. I've never really actually