This past Sunday, after an amazing four year run, the curtain was drawn for the final time on Dunvegan’s Music & Mayhemrevue. However, before moving on, I want to honour the pledge I made last week: to provide you with a glimpse of the lives of these talented volunteers when they’re not on stage. The task was not without its challenges. In some ways, it was akin to herding cats. Some individuals only divulged the texture of their past under threat of excommunication. Others gladly provided effusive outpourings that detailed their lives from very the day of their birth. From these two extremes, I will try to present accurate snapshots of the cast and crew I couldn’t include last Wednesday.
Gerry “Elvis” Schmidt hails from Baltics Corners, just south of Dunvegan, where he and his wife Hugette raised five children, not to mention, meat hens, layers, pigs, turkeys, geese, sheep and at the time of the ‘98 ice storm, 56 head of beef cattle. Born in Hinternah, Germany, Gerry immigrated to Montreal in 1956 and immediately found work in a warehouse at 75¢ an hour. After earning a Bachelor of Commerce degree from Sir George Williams in 1968, Gerry landed a position with Dominion Textile. There, he rose through the ranks to retire in 1997 from his position as Chief Financial Officer at one of the company’s subsidiaries. Today, Gerry and Hughette devote a great deal of time to their mutual hobby of rockhounding and attending gem and mineral shows from Bancroft and Montreal to Tucson, Arizona.
Jim “Granada” McRae is an ex-dairy farmer who lives with his wife Robin on Happy Hollow Road north of Vankleek Hill. The double-century farm has been home to the McRae family for seven generations. And today’s McRae’s are still cropping the land, have a small goat herd and run a B&B for heifers in the winter. Jim started out performing in bars and dance halls, but as the years marched on, he is now making music in churches, including Joyful Noize from Knox Church in Vankleek Hill and East Hawkesbury Gospel Sound. In addition to his rich singing voice and his mastery of both the guitar and the banjo, it is his incredibly expressive face that endeared him so to the M&M audiences. By the way, if you’ve ever wondered about the origin of Happy Hollow Road’s name, legend has it’s rooted in the title of a column that used to appear in the VKH Review. In the 1800s, community correspondents would mail in the news from their neck of the woods. Jim still remembers the little log cabin beside the hollow on his road where he was told the woman who had lived there would pen her dispatch: “Letters from Happy Hollow Road.”
Like her co-stage manager, Alyson, Wendy “Unflappable” MacLeod grew up in Dunvegan and was part of that cohort of kids who populated the hamlet in the 1980s and 90s. Wendy went on to become a Registered Nurse and earn her Bachelor of Science in Nursing and, early in her career, worked as an ER nurse at the Glengarry Memorial Hospital. You know you’re getting old when the young girl you saw kicking around at Dunvegan Recreation events is now in charge of your health care when you enter the triage cubicle. A devoted wife and step-mom to four children, Wendy continues to work at our local hospital where she coordinates in-service staff development, orientates new staff, oversees the Telemedicine program and serves as a frontline nurse in the ER and Medicine units and much more. No doubt it was this ability to keep so many balls in the air that led to her being drafted into the M&M stage management role. Although comfortable in front of a crowd after years of competitive step dancing, Wendy is most at ease helping out back stage.
Scott “Sticks” Graham is another member of the Dunvegan gang who grew up in and around Dunvegan and did not move to the big city. Scott is married to the talented Julia Graham owner-chef of the Quirky Carrot in Alexandria. They now call Maxville home. For years, Scott worked at Rozon Insurance in Lancaster. He was our representative for many years and we were sad when he left to accept the position of Chief Operating Officer at Grenville Mutual Insurance in Kemptville. Scott was raised in a household with two talkative younger sisters and to be heard he had to learn early on to speak up. From this grew his love of a microphone. Scott is also no stranger to performing in front of a crowd. He is a long-time member of the Quigley Highlanders Pipes and Drums, where he plays lead in their drum corps.
Born in Upsalla, Sweden, Shastin “Bubblegum” Winchester came to Montreal in 1972 from England with her first husband. As her credentials as a physiotherapist weren’t recognized in Quebec, she was forced to seek alternative employment. She opened a short-lived Christmas shop in Old Montreal, worked for an orthodontist, was hired as a “ground air hostess” and finally found her calling as a flight attendant on Charles Bronfman’s private plane. This latter job lasted for 17 years, until the Bronfman family moved to New York in 1998 and took the plane along with them. During this time, Shastin and her husband split up and she married Jim Winchester. She and Jim moved to the 4thof Kenyon in 1999. While not shy to speak her mind, speaking in public was Shastin’s nightmare… as it is for so many people. That is until Rosemary Chatterson and Music & Mayhembrought her out of the audience and onto the stage. Carpe Diem!
James “Witch Doctor” Winchester comes to us originally from Kentville, Nova Scotia. His was truly a million-mile journey to arrive here in North Glengarry. His quest began after he left his Maritime high school drama club behind and struck out for the bright lights of Hollywood. These lights soon dimmed when the only prospects of gainful employment were a Dunkin Doughnut interview, a commercial involving a Mountie and vague recollections of a dog food spot… none of which amounted to much. So Jim took a job as a parking lot attendant and set up a ‘Wash While You Shop’ in the lot to save enough money to get home. There, he borrowed money from HFC (remember HFC, the original payday loan company?) to launch his flying career. After an unsuccessful attempt to join Canadian Pacific Airlines, Jim ferried members of the Irving and McCain dynasties across the globe. It was flying, but it wasn’t a good fit. Luckily, he was talent-spotted by Execaire where he went on to serve as the Senior Captain on the BCE Challenger. That is where Jim’s first wife left for a career of her own, and he found the love of his life 31 years ago. Jim recently hung up his wings, but like with so many lives, the circle was completed when Rosemary’s talent and enthusiasm rekindled an old flame in Jim… his love of the theatre.
Last, but not least, we have Allan “I Don’t Think So” MacDonald. Raised on the family farm on the 4thof Kenyon, Allan attended SS#9, the one-room school house down the road that former MPP Grant Crack is currently renovating. After hitchhiking across Canada, Allan moved from Glengarry to Canada’s second Scottish enclave and studied history at St. Francis Xavier University in Antigonish, Nova Scotia. From there, he returned to Ontario where he earned a Masters degree in history from the University of Waterloo. What does a young man do with two degrees in history? In Allan’s case, he joined the Ontario Archives and learned the tricks of the trade he would need when he returned back home. For the last chapter of his career, Allan headed up the Queen’s Printer for Ontario. Based on a cost-recovery model, this agency is responsible for publishing government documents and maps. However, while you can take the boy out of Glengarry, it’s harder to take Glengarry out of the boy. All during his time in the wilderness that is Toronto and western Ontario, Allan was set on returning home. And to this end, he purchased the family farm in 1979. In 2011, Allan finally realized his dream. He and his wife retired to the 4thof Kenyon. However, it turned into a busman’s retirement when he accepted the position of Glengarry County archivist.
And that in two installments is the amazing team of volunteers that Rosemary Chatterson assembled to stage one of the most successful events in Dunvegan’s long history. The M&M gang will be sorely missed.
… but not by Dunveganites
Out of curiosity, I did a quick calculation of how many people who actually live in Dunvegan and the surrounding area attended one of this year’s five Music & Mayhemconcerts. My best guess is that out of the 500+ people who bought tickets, no more that 15 were Dunveganites. That works out to about 2.7%. I know you can lead a horse to water, but not make it drink. But it’s sad statement on the community’s spirit when people within walking distance of the hall… or a short car ride… can’t take the time to come out for a couple of hours and show their support.
By the way, if you’d like to see what you missed, the 2016 production is on YouTube. All you have to do is Google “Music & Mayhem 2016” or type the following URL into your browser: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4mcPYqkZNJs
Yuletide at the kirk
This year, the Kenyon Presbyterian Church in Dunvegan had to forgo their children’s Christmas Party with Santa. Ashley MacLeod has returned to university and was too busy with her studies to organize the event. In its stead, the church has added a twist to its annual Christmas Eve service on Dec 24that 7 PM. I’m told that the Sunday school students will be actively participating in the festive celebration with readings and music. All are welcome to attend.
Mark-1 Appendix-0
I was very pleased to hear that Mark Fraser is home and recuperating from a burst appendix. I’m told things were touch and go at one point, but all turned out well in the end. Mark and his tractor-trailer rig were sorely missed at harvest time. However, friends and neighbours stepped up to the plate and helped Mark’s wife Jade and his parents, Jack and Linda Fraser, get their beans and corn off the field. Here’s wishing Mark a speedy recovery.
Merry Christmas!
Throwing all caution to the wind and ignoring the constraints of political correctness, I would like to wish all of my loyal readers… and even my detractors… a very Happy Christmas and a Prosperous New Year.
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