I had the privilege of attending the debut of this year’s Music & Mayhem revue last Friday night and, as always, it was magical. For a bunch of amateurs, the M&M cast and crew are very professional. However, on Saturday, I realized that after years of writing about their antics on stage, I’d never taken a close look at these incredible volunteers as individuals. In other words, who they are when they leave the limelight and step back into their daily lives? So I intend to rectify this oversight, starting this week. Towards this end, I asked every member of the troupe to send me a brief biographical note describing his or her life in very broad strokes. And here is what I have so far… in the chronological order in which they were received.
Flip Flockton, the M&M narrator, is originally from England and never thought she would have the chance to imitate the sound of an English telephone “ring” in front of an audience! An accomplished artist and illustrator, Flip and her husband Robin are now retired and have downsized from their sprawling property on the 1stof Kenyon to a lovely little house in Alexandria. As for why she chose to use the British br-ring br-ringtelephone sound in the M&M performances, she said, “The older I get, the more I seem to revert to the language of my childhood.”
Audrey Nixon, best known to M&M enthusiasts for her hilarious rendition of Patsy Cline’s She’s Got You, was an elementary teacher for 32 years. In that role, she loved to organize, direct and play the piano for her school’s annual Christmas Concert (or in today’s PC parlance: Non-denominational Celebration of Nothing in Particular). Obviously born with greasepaint in her veins, Audrey has also had roles in local productions of Fiddler on the Roof, Agatha Christie’s The Mouse Trapand Glengarry School Days. When I asked her about how she concealed the memorabilia of her shattered love affair beneath her dress, she replied, “Let’s just say, it’s my little secret.” And I agree with her. There’s nothing wrong with a little mystery in this bare-all world.
Elizabeth Caddell and her keyboard provide the musical thread that stitches the M&M show together. The music and drama teacher at Glengarry District for 28 years, Liz has Bachelor of Music and a Bachelor of Education from Queens. But that’s just the tip of the iceberg. Liz, who majored on trombone at university, has performed at the Montreal Jazz Festival… was a member of the Carm Aube Big Band in Cornwall for many years… is the organist at St. Finnan’s Cathedral in Alexandria… and is co-organizer of the popular “Concerts at the Grotto” series with her husband Brian Caddell. And these are just a few of the projects in which she’s played a key role. But what has Elizabeth really excited right now is the musical “Mamma Mia” she and her students will be presenting in April.
Gary and Barbara Newman, members of the original 2015 M&M cast were pleased to be asked to reprise their hit numbers for this year’s “Best Of” show. Gary, a native of Newfoundland, sang with the church choir at St. Clements in Verdun before moving to Glengarry. Barbara and her first husband, Jim Graham, lived on the eastern edge of the Dunvegan hamlet. Barb started performing when she got involved in Junior Farmers many years ago. But it was her auctioneer training and time with the gavel that gave her the confidence to take the stage in front of an audience of strangers. “Hearing people laugh, brings much joy to one’s heart.” Barb told me.
Alyson Graham is also a native of Dunvegan, although these days she resides on the 4thof Kenyon with her husband Matt Williams and their three children. Alyson, Barb Newman’s daughter, is a middle child.Folk wisdom says that a middle child is often the family peacekeeper… sociable, faithful to friends and good at relating to both older and younger people. This is especially true in Alyson’s case; the small business she owns provides services for seniors.Despite taking home Air Band awards for both the best Female and Male performances while at GDHS, M&M is Alyson’s first behind-the-scenes role. She thinks she was chosen as co-Stage Director for her type-A personality.
It’s hard to believe that Rosemary Chatterson, the creative engine that drives Music & Mayhem, is now a great-grandmother, especially when you see her in action during one of their grueling performances. But she is. Rosemarygrew up in Brantford and went to work with the local Co-operators Insurance office. A few years later, she was promoted and moved to the firm’s head office in Guelph. When she retired in 2010, she was a Desktop Services Consultant in their Information Technology department. In 2011, she and her husband Glengarry County archivist Allan J. MacDonald moved back east to his family farm on the 4thof Kenyon. Rosemary began singing at a very young age, but didn’t discover acting until after she hit 30. This put her on the path to many theatre performances and the creation of the precursor to Music & Mayhemin Cambridge 20 years ago. When not busy producing Dunvegan’s hit musical revue, Rosemary plays piano at the Maxville Manor on a regular basis and fills in at Kenyon Presbyterian in Dunvegan and other churches when they need a pianist. Her present passion is pickle ball at the Tim Horton’s dome.
John Macaulay, the man in charge of sound and lights for the M&M performances, was born and raised in Montreal. He and his wife Marilyn moved to North Lancaster in 1975. There the couple raised a family and commuted to the Big Smoke to jointly run a gift basket importing business until 2010, when they sold the concern and retired. John’s love of technology can be seen in the fact he designed and installed an off-grid power array for their home; solar panels and a massive battery bank provided the juice. He also built a professional recording studio in his basement. Another of John’s passions is cruising on his vintage Honda motorcycle. When the good weather comes, he often travels to the couple’s seaside cottage in Nova Scotia.
And that takes us about half way. I’ll complete the cast and crew rundown next week.
Kris Kringle Kliffhanger
Regrettably, we couldn’t drop by the DRA hall last Saturday morning to check in on the “Visit with Santa” event. Terry and I were on our annual Christmas Tree Trek to Riceville with the Linneys, in search of coniferous perfection. It’s a tradition we’ve followed for more years than I’d like to count. Of course, we won’t know if we hit our mark until the sapling comes in from the cold, but I’m hopeful we’ve come close.
According to head elf and organizer Anne Bertrand, Saturday’s event started out as a bit of a nail biter. Not exactly the trajectory one would expect with this type of party. Mix kids with games and treats and add Santa and Mrs. Claus. What could go wrong? Well, for the first painfully long thirty minutes the hall was bereft of children, which had the DRA volunteers seriously worried. But then everyone showed up at once and children between the ages of ten months and ten years old poured in. Anne went on to describe the morning’s activities thusly…
“We played games of blowing the Christmas ball into the goal, drawing a snowman on a plate on top of your head and tossing rings onto a set of antlers. The craft table was loaded with pinecones, glitter and glue, and red paper plates were turned into Santa faces using cotton balls. Mrs. Claus had baked cupcakes for everyone and there were candy canes and other sweet treats.”
Naturally, the hit of the party was when Santa Claus arrived, heralded by the jingle of sleigh bells. He and Mrs. Claus met with each child to find out what they wanted for Christmas. The obligatory photos were then taken and Santa gave each child a loot bag.
Anne wanted to make sure I acknowledged all those who worked to make Saturday such a special event, including Santa and Mrs. Claus and Mona Andre. Volunteer Lewis MacLeod who oversaw the craft table also deserves a huge round of applause. I suspect keeping a bunch of sugar-fuelled youngsters on point is akin to herding cats.
Random act of kindness
A few weeks ago, Terry and I ran into Evelyn and Barry Viau in Casselman, of all places. The Viaus live in the big white house on the south side of Dunvegan Road, at the east end of the hamlet. For many years, it was home to our post office and Evelyn was Dunvegan’s postmistress. If you’re not sure which house I’m referring to, it’s the one that lost so many trees in last fall’s tornado. This includes the uprooted one that snapped a hydro pole and knocked out Dunvegan’s power… and the monstrous one that got caught in the crotch of another tree and landed dangerously close to the Viau’s garage.
Barry and Evelyn are both retired, and Barry is dealing with some serious medical issues. Neither one was in a position to fire up a chain saw and tackle the downed trees, or even clear the branches blocking their driveway. So they were overjoyed when one day Byron Calder from Dunvegan West showed up out of the blue with his saw and started hacking down the limbs he could reach. It was one of those random acts of kindness that gives one hope that good neighbourliness may still be alive and well. Thank you, Byron.
There is still much to be done, but given the widow-maker nature of the fallen behemoth, that will require more than just one person and a saw. In the spring, perhaps someone younger than I (with loads more chainsaw experience) will put together a work bee and pay it forward.
Jingle cards… jingle cards…
Please don’t forget that the DRA’s Christmas Euchre Luncheon will be held one week early — Friday, December 14th— at 19053 County Road 24 from 12:00 noon to around 3:30 PM. Admission is only $5 and includes chicken noodle soup, homemade sandwiches and holiday sweets by Sandra Daigle. A 50/50 draw is also part of the fun. Everyone is welcome drop by. We even have regular players from as far away as Cornwall. Hope to see you there.
-30-