By Dave Babbitt – Special to the Sydenham Current
Through the years, there have been events that have slowly made their way into the lore of the community.
I would never call myself a ‘history buff’, but as I age some of these events have piqued my interest.
In terms of music, the Bob Jacks Orchestra reunion of 1968 has become somewhat legendary as well as a 1951 Wallaceburg Kiltie Band trip to Florida, which is the topic of this week’s column.
Wallaceburg’s Kiltie Band was well-known for almost 60 years and performed many concerts on a bandstand that once stood on the land the Library parking lot now occupies.
Being a marching band as well as a concert band, the Kilties also served as ambassadors of our community and travelled to play in parades in many places, including in the United States.
In recognition of the bands’ importance, goodwill and significance as ambassadors of Wallaceburg, Municipal Council passed a motion approving for $500,000 of tax income to help offset operating costs.
The Wallaceburg Kiltie Band long played under the baton of E. Von Ayres, ‘Mr. Music’, and a revered name in local music circles.
In 1922, Von decided that the band needed a change of direction and to establish a unique identity and thus, the ‘Kiltie’ uniform was adopted.
The plaid chosen for the new uniform was the Gordon Tartan in honour of the ‘Father of Modern Wallaceburg’ and former Mayor, David Alexander Gordon, or ‘D.A. Gordon’ as he is better known.
The Kiltie theme was a great refection of Wallaceburg’s Scottish roots and the new uniforms replete with sporran, scarlet jackets, plaid hose and brogues (shoes) were stunning.
I’ve always been somewhat baffled as to what the term ‘Kiltie’ actually meant but in researching it, found out that it is simply a term applied to anyone who wears a kilt.
In the early 50’s, Kiltie Band members Murray Newkirk and Glenn Hazzard initiated contact with organizers of the annual Festival of States in St. Petersburg, Florida about being involved in the celebration.
The Festival had a long history and with St. Petersburg having a very large seasonal population, citizens were organized into ‘societies’ according to their home states, primarily for social gatherings.
Canadians were flocking to St. Pete’s even back then, and were included in the annual celebration which culminated in a huge parade.
The Kiltie Band were invited to be a part of the Festival in 1951 and augmented by a six-piece pipe band, left on a Greyhound bus from the corner of Creek and James Streets and it took the better part of two days to arrive at their first stop in Silver Springs, Florida.
Over the next 10 days the Kilties played three concerts on a large stage set-up behind Webb’s City, known as the ‘World’s Most Unusual Drug Store’ as well as in the big parade.
Reports are that the Kilties were extremely well received and were the hit of the festival.
Their uniforms were unique and beautiful, giving the band an aura much like an RCMP officer in their distinctive, world-renowned Red Serge.
The band members wore their uniforms proudly for much of the trip, with many of the locals wanting to have their picture taken with a Kiltie.
Being the community-minded industry they were, Dominion Glass produced commemorative tumblers for many, many events and this occasion was no different.
They produced specially-designed commemorative tumblers of the trip that the band presented to Festival dignitaries.
As an added measure of Scottish authenticity, Wilf Laing with his strong Scottish brogue (the accent, not the shoe!) served as the Master of Ceremonies for all of the band’s appearances.
While still teaching, I had the opportunity to take my bands on several trips as well.
Trips of this nature must always include a nice balance between performing and taking in the sights of the locations being visited as did the Kilties.
Among other places, they spent a good deal of time at Cyprus Gardens taking in the sights and the world-famous water ski demonstrations.
Accompanying the Kilties were four photographers: John Hutcheson, Orin Huchtwith, Peter Mitchell and Bill Collins, who chronicled the trip on 16mm film.
The much-treasured film had not been seen for many years when it surfaced in the early 2000’s.
The film was then transferred to a digital format and was to be shown at a June 4, 2005 Kiltie Band Reunion.
The film was silent and of course, compared to today’s standards, has terrible resolution.
In speaking with Al Mann at the time, I thought that it might be very interesting to have a few band members who went on the trip sit before microphones and provide a running commentary before there were no surviving trip members to explain what, and who we were watching.
It was to be a kind of ‘Directors Cut’.
Marlo Wicks, Bob Leach and Al Mann came to my Music Room at WDSS one evening, where I sat them before three microphones, showed the movie on my big screen, and recorded their dialogue.
Marlo and Bob were band members who were part of the Florida trip, and local historian Alan Mann provided his encyclopedic knowledge and perspective.
The dialogue was captivating and I heard so many familiar local family names.
After I captured the audio recording, Alyson Slaney of MindsEye Productions married the film with the audio.
The result is a very important piece of Wallaceburg music history that was shown at the Kiltie Band Reunion in June of 2004.
The film is all the more interesting now as none of Al, Bob or Marlo are still with us.
The great news however, is that I’ve captured this film and posted it on my YouTube channel making it available for everyone to see.
I believe that our history should be accessible to everyone and I’m working on a few more of these projects.
If you want to watch this film, see it below:
The film is 40 minutes in duration.
I highly recommend that everyone watch this piece of 1951 history because you will likely hear names and see faces that may very well be part of your family history.
While you’re on YouTube, search ‘On the Railroad’.
You should see a picture of me.
Let me know what you think… not about my picture or singing, but my idea.
Comments always welcome at daveanddanwcp@gmail.com.
