This segment is for the Glengarry classical music lovers out there. I know you exist but — in a rural setting where the word “music” is typically accompanied by the adjective “Country” or “Celtic” — are often afraid to show your true colours. I bring glad tidings of great joy. The Glengarry Pioneer Museum is hosting a classical music concert on Thursday, July 13th starting at 8:00 PM. The performance will be held on the grounds of the museum — or under the Pavilion, in the case of rain.
Dubbed Music under the Stars, the evening of chamber music will feature NÜ TRIO, a classical string ensemble from Montreal featuring Veronika Cherniak on violin, Matthew Goulet on bass and Jennifer Thiessen standing in for Lauren Tyros on viola. Graduates of top Canadian universities, the members of NÜ TRIO have extensive performance experience that has taken them around the globe. And, as of July 13th, they’ll be able to add Dunvegan to the list of world-class cities, towns and hamlets.
The trio will perform Beethoven’s String Trio No.1 in E-Flat major Op.3, Hayden’s Divertimento in G major, plus compositions by Mozart and Barber. There will even be a few surprises. While there’s no formal admission, a hat or hats will be passed at intermission time. The suggested donation is $15 per person.
Don’t forget your favourite lawn chair or blanket. If you wish, you can even bring a picnic supper and dine al fresco before the concert. For those who have never been to the museum in Dunvegan, it’s located at the intersection of County Roads 24 and 30.
Producer “bears” all
If you think that the DRA’s Music & Mayhem Christmas Concerts in support of our local Food Bank just happen, think again. The cast and crew of this year’s production have already had an initial meeting to walk through the new skits. And the concerts are six months away.
I was speaking with the revue’s producer, Rosemary Chatterson, this past weekend and she related a heartwarming story related to one of this year’s skits called “The Bear and the Atheist.” At this stage of the production process, Rosemary is still searching high and low for props. And, at the very top of this list, was a bear costume… an item she secretly held little hope of finding. Until, she and her husband Allan J. MacDonald went to Ottawa for dinner last week. They were a bit too early for their reservations, so they had to walk around for a while.
Understandably, the couple was gobsmacked when, as they passed the St. Vincent de Paul store on Wellington Street, they spotted a bear costume in the window. When they asked inside the store about it, they learned that items in the window were sold every third Friday, on a first come, first served basis. They were also told the upcoming Friday was D-Day for the costume and its companions in the window.
While the store opens daily at 9:00 AM, Rosemary and Allan had heard that people line up outside long before that on these special Fridays. Allan offered to go and stand in line; his plan was to get there at 8:00. However, he had trouble sleeping and ended up leaving home at 6:00. Rosemary told him he was crazy to be going that early to stand in the rain, but he was on a mission. And it’s a good thing he did. When he arrived at 7:00, there were already ten people ahead of him. Allan being Allan, he worked his way down the queue asking each person if they were there for the bear costume. His hopes were dashed when the last person he asked (but the very first in line) said “yes.”
Undaunted, he explained that he and Rosemary put on a show in Dunvegan at Christmas for the Food Bank. When he asked if they had ever heard of Dunvegan, the woman nodded in the affirmative, explaining that she had grown up in Moose Creek. So Allan asked if the Music & Mayhem troupe could borrow the costume in December and she and her husband were glad to agree.
As an added bonus, the St. Vincent store also had something else from this year’s prop list — 45 rpm records — at just 50 cents a piece. So Allan was able to cross two things off Rosemary’s list… and one was free.
Dunvegan nuptials
While the traditional church wedding is still very popular, some couples want a more unorthodox venue… like the Glengarry Pioneer Museum. A perfect example is the wedding that took place this past Saturday joining Rony Odermatt of Stewart’s Glen Road and Tiffany Nelson of Richmond, Quebec in matrimony.
Under the shade of the Williams Pavilion, the young couple shared their vows in front of 90 or so family members and friends. Following the ceremony and the taking of photos (the museum provides some unique settings for these), the celebration moved east along Dunvegan Road to Rony and Tiffany’s farm for the reception.
I’m sure I speak for the entire community when I wish the happy pair all the best for the life together.
Glengarry school days
Last week, the Dunvegan museum hosted back-to-back school group visits. On June 8th, the Cedar Valley Mennonite School from just west of Alexandria came for an entire day. Three of the Cedar Valley teachers met with curator Jennifer Black a week before the visit to plan the trip. They borrowed research on how to teach in a one-room schoolhouse, including information on 19th and early 20th century lesson plans, spelling lists and the rules both students and teacher must follow. Jennifer tells me the teachers must have put a lot of time into preparing, because they came totally organized to teach their students — all 30 of them — from grades 1 through 9. Here’s how Jennifer described the day.
“As 9:00 AM approached, the students started to arrive. They were instructed to dress the part and walk or bike to school. Some must have been dropped off down the road a little, but others biked from as far away as Maxville to attend. Girls were wearing dresses and pioneer bonnets. And the boys wore plaid shirts and makeshift suspenders to hold up their trousers. What surprised me the most was that many of them came barefoot. We have antique school photos hanging in the entrance of the schoolhouse and in a couple of them, all of the students are barefoot. One of these photos was taken in front of our schoolhouse (SS#1 a.k.a., Kenyon, Big Beaver School).
On top of their commitment to wearing pioneer apparel, the Mennonite students also brought their lunches in old honey pails, or wrapped in tea towels. There were no juice boxes or cans of pop. Instead, they brought drinking water in glass jars. Jennifer says the three Cedar Valley teachers did a superb job preparing their students and recreating the academic environment of a 19th century one-room schoolhouse.”
Talk about bringing pioneer history alive. Well done!
The only problem with the Cedar Valley visit was that it left the bar rather high for poor Jennifer. The very next day, June 9th, she had to play the role of teacher when the Maxville Public School brought their grade 3 class.
The students spent the morning in the schoolhouse, singing God Save the Queen (thanks to Trevor Stanton for joining in), taking attendance, making sure everyone’s hands were clean… not to mention the three Rs: reading, ‘riting and ‘rithmetic. Ruth Stanton taught handwriting and the children got to try using slates and even fountain pens.
The museum’s seasonal staff prepared period-appropriate games for recess and during lunch hour. Then, in the afternoon, the Maxville students toured the various activity stations around the museum. Jennifer says special thanks go to Lynn Mcnab for demonstrating leatherwork and the Twistle Guild of Glengarry for teaching how to make felt.
And the Glengarry Pioneer Museum’s School Outreach Program has more activities planned. This week, a smaller group from Plantagenet will visit the site. And next weekend, museum staff will be at the Maxville Fair on both Friday and Saturday to introduce youngsters to pioneer-style activities and crafts.
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