Search Content

File: gaudetdavid06-oh-declineandrevival_M.mp3

Speakers:

DG – David Gaudet

KP – Curator Ken Perlman

DG: When I was growing up to be a fiddler, there wasn't many around then. There's wasn't a big demand then. I wouldn't even take the fiddle to a party if there was a bunch my age

File: dayivan06-oh-findingthefiddler_M.mp3

ID – Ivan Day

JG – John Gauthier

ID: I remember there was a party back in Frank Murphy's one night up in Norboro, and they come to me, got me out of bed at 10 or 10:30. They want to have a dance back there. A bunch of them got together and

File: macintyrestewart-oh-farmlife_M.mp3

Speakers:

SM – Stewart MacIntyre

KP – Curator Ken Perlman

KP: If you lived on a farm when you were young about how many hours a day would you be working?

SM: There was really no such thing as as hours, it was sunrise

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: cheveriecharles-oh-alchohol_violence_M.mp3

Speakers:

CC – Fr. Charlie Cheverie

KP – Curator Ken Perlman

CC: On the Island in particular, in the Prohibition days in particular, a lot of the drinking was done – First of all, drinking was done; people drank. But it

File: doucettejoe-oh-howlearned.mp3

Speakers:

JD – Joe Doucette

KP – Curator Ken Perlman

JD: I was 6 years old.

KP: How did you go about learning to play the fiddle?

JD: How'd I go about it? Go hide somewheres with the

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: 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: farrellleo06-oh-gettingstarted_M.mp3

Speakers:

LF – Leo Farrell

KP – Curator Ken Perlman

LF: Well I'll tell you, my mother was a Woods from Miscouche. And after church – we're Catholics, I don't know what you are but it don't make no difference anyhow. After

File: jonesandrew-oh-steannechanges_M.mp3

Speakers:

AJ – Andrew Jones

KP – Curator Ken Perlman

KP That's a very nice version of that tune.

AJ Yeah? We used to play [it] the old way -- I mean when it was first written it was kind of a …

File: smithtony06-oh-steannetwists_M.mp3

Speakers:

TS – Tony Smith

KP – Curator Ken Perlman

KP: A lot of fiddlers have commented about – That no two fiddlers play…

TS: The same.

KP: They might play the tunes the same way but they all

File: macdonaldhilda-oh-jimmysimmons_M.mp3

Speakers:

HM – Hilda MacPhee MacDonald

GM – George MacPhee (Hilda's nephew)

KP – Curator Ken Perlman

HM: Oh Jimmy Simmons, he was the best fiddler that ever was heard of I suppose, anywheres around. Yeah. Oh my God he was great

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: 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: 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: morrisseyjohnny-oh-lemjay_bonaparte_M.mp3

Speakers:

JM – Johnny Morrissey

JM There was an old fellow from Mt. Stewart, Lem Jay, did you hear tell of him? And every New Years he'd go into Charlottetown – When radios came out first, it was a long time ago, he'd go into

File: macinnisbillysenior06-oh-declinesqdances_M.mp3

Speakers:

BM – Billy MacInnis Sr.

KP – Curator Ken Perlman

BM:A lot of them dances was just a fiddle and a piano: not even vocalists, and you could in them days put 100 to 150 people in a hall just with a fiddle

File: doucettepat06-oh-musichome_M.mp3

Speaker:

PD – Pat Doucette

KP – Curator Ken Perlman

KP: Were you born on a farm?

PD: No, a little fishing village. Dad used run the Post Office; he worked the lumber woods. We had guitars in the house, and one of my brothers he

File: robinsonpeter06-oh-ellerslieschoolprogram_M.mp3

Speakers:

PR – Peter Robinson

KP – Curator Ken Perlman

PR: I got the job as music teacher here in Ellerslie.

KP- I believe that you have started up a fiddle in the schools program?

PR

File: huestislowell06-oh-wppartyline_M.mp3

Speaker:

LH – Lowell Huestis

LH: That was on at 11:30 in the morning, every morning Monday through Friday. We would go to the country and record at some of these various talent shows, whenever there was a talent show advertised

File: morrisonrita-oh--musichome_M.mp3

Speakers:

RM – Rita Morrison

KP – Curator Ken Perlman

RM It was a family of ten.

KP Are you related to Joe MacDonald?

RM Not related, no, but we were very close friends over the years. They lived

File: gallanternie06-oh-partiesegmontbay_M.mp3

Speakers:

EG – Ernie Gallant

PD – Pat Doucette

KP – Curator Ken Perlman

They were up to three or four parties a week. One house would have it one night, then they'd take a night off and another house would have it

File: macdonaldjoe-oh-miqmacs_M.mp3

Speakers:

JM – Joe MacDonald

KP – Curator Ken Perlman

JM: Well, there was an Indian village around here, and there was about four fiddlers there, permanently.

KP: Were they Mi'kmaq fiddlers?

JM Yeah.

KP Do you

File: hughesemmett-oh-learningtunes_M.mp3

Speakers:

EH – Emmett Hughes

EH: See then, the difference [between] then and now is you could jig reels and jigs and whistle them when you were 5 or 6 year old. See, now there's no -- A young person that that goes startin' to

File: quinnmerlin-oh-swingingrhythm_M.mp3

Speakers:
MQ – Merlin Quinn

KP – Curator Ken Perlman

MQ: I can teach you how to swing in about two seconds. You don't have to have a partner. And you don't have to have fast music. The thing about swingin is, music doesn't have to be fast

File: doucettevictor06-oh-puppetmishap_M.mp3

Speakers:

VD – Victor Doucette

KP: curator Ken Perlman

KP: I know your Dad used to make a lot of things out of wood, and puppets, he showed me these dancing dolls he made [a set of dancing dolls operated by the fiddler's

File: gotellwilfred-oh-ducks_M.mp3

Speaker:

WG – Wilfred Gotell

KP – Curator Ken Perlman

WG Only one time I had resentment. I played down in Murray Harbor, a group of us; poor Fred [McCullough] was with us. There was four or us, no five of us, and we had to hire

File: wilsonteresa06group-oh-womenfiddling_M.mp3

Speakers:

TW - Teresa MacPhee Wilson

AM - Anne McPhee

MM - Marie MacIntyre

TB - Tracy Warren Burke

MW - Mary MacPhee Warren

GM - Gloria MacPhee MacInnis

KP – Curator Ken Perlman

File: farrellleo06-oh-frolics_M.mp3

Speakers:

LF – Leo Farrell

KP – Curator Ken Perlman

KP: Did they have frolics in your day?

LF: Yeah, choppin' frolics. All the neighbors go to your place and cut wood for you, eh. You maybe had an operation or

File: wightelliott-oh-dances_countryshowers_M.mp3

Speakers:

EW – Elliott Wight

KP – Curator Ken Perlman

KP And were there house parties in [your area]?

EW A lot. They call 'em around here "country showers". If a girl's getting married, they'd always have

File: chaissonyoungpeter-oh-parentopposition.mp3

Speakers:
PC – "Young Peter" Chaisson

KC – Kevin Chaisson

KC But see the music got passed down. Like my grandmother on my father's side, I mean; she used to jig the tunes to my father when my grandpa would be away, because grandpa

File: dauschmidtkathryn06-oh-philosophy_M.mp3

Speaker:

KD – Kathryn Dau Schmidt

KD: I figure everybody can learn something, can learn enough to have fun at it. And that's the first thing, to have fun. And the second thing is, you have to have a lot of people who just enjoy fiddling

File: macdonaldfaber-oh-fiddlecontests_M.mp3

Speakers:

FM – Rev. Faber MacDonald

FM You could get the sense that there were some very, very deep feelings about what had happened among fiddlers over the years as a result of them being engaged in competitions. I picked up

File: dockendorffharold06-oh-farmlife_M.mp3

Speakers:

HD – Harold Dockendorff

KP: Curator Ken Perlman

KP: Were you born on a farm?

HD: Yes.

KP: What kind of farm?

HD: Just mixed farming. It was mostly all mixed farming at that time on the Island.

File: quinnmerlin-oh-farmlife_M.mp3

Speakers:
MQ – Merlin Quinn

KP – Curator Ken Perlman

MQ: I probably remember what happened back in the '30's, that's for sure. Things were tough in the 30's alright but it seemed to be a nice way of living.

KP: What was nice about it?

File: woodrichard06-oh-olderfiddlers_M.mp3

Speakers:
RW – Richard Wood

RW: Those experiences, they were great for me because it was a bonding time with my Dad [Terry Wood]. It would be nothin' for us to be up at a ceilidh, or be in Monticello. Or say, "We just had dinner, what do you

File: oconnorattwood-oh-farmwork_M.mp3

Speakers:

AO- Attwood O'Connor

KP: Curator Ken Perlman

AO: The worst job I think there was, was haying and potatoes. Oh I detested them two jobs. Had to work by hand, fork the hay by hand. Fork it on the wagon and sometimes fork it off

File: smithtony06-oh-mysterycontestant_M.mp3

Speakers:

TS –Tony Smith

KP – Curator Ken Perlman

TS: A fellow from up Bangor way – But that feller, he - One night they were having this here contest at the Forum, they used to have a lot of them at old the Forum in

File: richardfred06-oh-gettingstarted_M.mp3

Speakers:

FR – Fred Richard

KP – Curator Ken Perlman

FR: And I always wanted to play the violin.

KP: Why was that?

FR: Well I used to like the sound of it. And there was an auction sale and I

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: hughesemmett06-oh-learningtodance_M.mp3

Speakers:

EH – Emmett Hughes

KP – Curator Ken Perlman

EH: When I was a young lad, you learned how to dance a set before you ever tried it. The people would - If there's four couples, they'd dance a set just to show you

File: macdonaldfrancis-oh-gettingstarted_M.mp3

Speakers:

FM – Francis MacDonald

KP – Curator Ken Perlman

KP So how old were you when you began playing?

FM Oh, I suppose around between 9 and 10 years old, somewhere in that range.

KP

File: robinsonpeter06-oh-keithrobinson_M.mp3

Speakers:

PR – Peter Robinson

KP – Curator Ken Perlman

KP – Tell me about your father's musical activities. I believe he was a prominent musician on the island.

PR – His name was Keith Robinson; he was known for

File: oconnorfrank-oh-musicinhome_M.mp3

Speakers:

FO – Frank O'Connor

KP – Curator Ken Perlman

F0: A family of ten and everybody played. In the hard times in the 30s, we had about one mouth organ, an old organ that was pretty weazey, one fiddle my dad played and he

File: macdonaldfaber-oh-theshadowside_M.mp3

Speakers:

FM – Rev Faver MacDonald

KP – Curator Ken Perlman

KP: What kind of stresses did this put on the lives of fiddlers, would you say?

FM: Well, for some it might have been quite heavy, simply because for

File: robinsonpeter06-oh-tynevalleycontest_M.mp3

Speakers:

PR – Peter Robinson

KP – Curator Ken Perlman

PR: It was originally tagged as the PEI Fiddling Competition. I took over middle 80s.. Keith Milligan was a one time Premier [of the province]. He ran it; it was his pride

File: chaissonyoungpeter-oh-fourthfingerdemo_M.mp3

Speakers:

PC – "Young Peter" Chaisson

KP – Curator Ken Perlman

PC: It makes the tune. Remember what we were talking about there today?

KP: Yeah.

PC: Like there's – When it'

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: cheverieomar06-oh-learningtunes_twists_M.mp3

Speakers:
OC – Omar Cheverie

RC – Randy Cheverie

KP: Curator Ken Perlman

OC: When I was young I had an exceptionally good ear for picking up tunes. In fact, some tunes, if it was an easy tune if I heard it once I could play

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: 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: 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: raffertyervin06-oh-basketsocials.mp3

Speakers:

ER – Ervan Rafferty

KP – Curator Ken Perlman

ER: They had basket socials back then, you know basket socials. They'd have sort of a get together. But it was mostly a card game if I remember right. The boys would be expected to

File: baglolesidney-oh-olddays_M.mp3

Speakers:

SB – Sid Baglole

KP – Curator Ken Perlman

SB: Oh, it was terrible in them days, terrible in them days. Oh, my goodness! There was no money (laughs). they used to pass the hat around, you know, to pay me,(laughs) Used to pass

File: huestislowell06-oh-nielsonandbear_M.mp3

Speakers:

LH – Lowell Huestis

LH: They [Messer and the band] stopped somewhere in the Rocky Mountains. There was a bear up in the road ahead, of their station wagon, And Duke [Neilson] told the driver, whoever was drivin' at

toolestephen-oh-goodfiddler_M.mp3

Speaker:
ST – Stephen Toole

KP – Curator Ken Perlman

ST Well, I think that there has to be music in you, yes. I've known people that are trying to play the fiddle, but I know very well that they'll never be able to play.

KP

File: poirierzelieanne-oh-musicinhome_M.mp3

Speakers:

ZP – Zélie-Anne Arsenault Poirier

KP – Curator Ken Perlman

KP There must have been a lot of music around the home

ZP Oh yeah!

KP Can you tell us a little bit about ...

ZP We had an old-fashioned organ

File: sigsworthcosmas-oh-mothersrole_M.mp3

Speakers:

CS – Cosmas Sigsworth

KP – Curator Ken Perlman

KP: You said your mother would sing the rest of the tunes to you. How did she learn the tunes?

CS: Now where she was born, there was fiddlers lived on either side

File: gotellwilfred-oh-halfwayhouse_M.mp3

Speakers:

WG – Wilfred Gotell

WG But in the old house there they used to have the parties over there, and they used to call it the halfway house - halfway from the village to my place, you know. A couple guys would get together

File: webstercarlandjackie06-oh-newgenerationfiddlers_M.mp3

Speakers:

CW: They play good, they get them yellin' and goin'.

MQ: They actually play real fast. You can put better time on it by slowin' down.

CW: You can put better time and you can get