Music in my life.

As far back as I can remember, there was music in our house. My mom seemed to be humming a tune as she did her housek work. And oh yes, my dad loved to sing. His favorite song was “ Moonlight Bay” and without exaggeration I’m sure I’ve heard him sing it 1000 times by the time I left home at 18 years of age.  I was a teenager when my dad bought my mom a piano.  Not that she was ever going to learn how to play but it was there for anyone else to play.

My two older sisters Verna and Georgie kept what we called a scribbler (lined rule book) to write down the words latest songs with the words to each song. They had a system when they listen to the song on the radio that Verna would write down the first line and Georgia would write down the second line, etc. this way by the time the song was ended they had it all down in black-and-white to sing.

My first recollection of my sister, singing songs was one of them or the other would rock me to  in the rocking chair when I was a child. As a matter of fact, until I was four years old, I thought that Georgie was my Mother! Now it all goes back to when the midwife Mrs. Brun brought me into the world. She handed me to Georgie and told her that she would have to look after the baby because mother needed a rest.  I was actually the 10th baby my mother had.

We didn’t have a piano.  However, I think by the time I was five years old, my brother Gordon, who was 14 years older than I was, had a guitar. Gordon also owned an accordion. My brother Gerald had a trumpet, a clarinet and the saxophone. I do believe both my brothers learned to play the piano after they turned 50.

We did have a Radio and it was the center of attention in our house: listening to the news, listening to dance bands from radio stations in the USA in the evening or late at night. (reception was exceptionally good at night). One of the favorites that I believe was on every Saturday night was Guy Lombardo and the Royal Canadian band . Music to sing along and dance to. 

And my Mother listen to one soap opera at 10 in the morning and an hour of soap programs between 1 and 2 PM. And in the winter, we listened to the Hockey Night in Canada program every Saturday night. Go Maple \Leafs!

Oh the horror when the batteries for the radio ran out and we never had an extra set of batteries I suppose because of the cost. Anyway, my dad would hightailed to our closest town Strongfield to get a new set of batteries.

I think by the time I would be 8 years old we had a record player. It was a majestic piece of furniture at least 4 feet tall on legs and two doors at the front. The top was a lid that lifted up on hinges.

 My siblings who would be teenagers at the time would makes some money and buy the latest records for us to enjoy the music.

My sister Georgie learn to play the piano where she worked as a housekeeper. Her older sister Verna once she became a school teacher learned to play the piano that was supplied at the schools where she’s taught the students. My sister Edna became a school teacher and learned to play a piano at the school as well. Edna became a music teacher and could hear a song once and play it on the piano. She had a fantastic ear for music.

My sister Verna reluctantly came back home to teach at our local school,Stanford, when the teacher left halfway through my first year at school. We were so lucky to keep my sister for the rest of that year and the whole next year. Verna was by far the best teacher I ever had and she taught us so much more than what was in the curriculum. We had a variety of extracurricular games. We had spelling bees, geography bees, and sometimes we sang songs all afternoon. Verno played the piano and she brought out her song books so we could follow and sing along.

 When I moved into an apartment with three other girls, the first thing I bought what’s a console Record Player with Radio.  It played 33+ 1/3  long play records and I was off to the races buying my first Frank Sinatra album called “Songs For Swingin Lovers”.  After I gave away my records, of course I went out and bought the CD of the same name.

I guess you could say I’m still old-fashioned and that I still have favorite CDs that I play on a regular basis. I have a variety of artists from Ella Fitzgerald, Garth, Brooks, Willie Nelson, Patsy Cline, Anne Murray, Carlton Showband, Leon Redbone, lots of Dixieland jazz and of course, my favorite band The Eagles. 

Modern technology has given us the ability to click on your I remember, iPad almost any song you want to hear.

I was fortunate that there was a music teacher at the end of our street where are my children took piano lessons. I remember Colleen and her dad, Doc, coming home from the movie The Sting and she immediately went to the piano and played The Entertainer from that movie.

Modern technology has given us the ability to click on your I remember, iPad almost any song you want to hear.

I was fortunate that there was a music teacher at the end of our street where are my children took piano lessons. I remember Colleen and her dad, Doc, coming home from the movie The Sting and she immediately went to the piano and played The Entertainer from that movie.

I mentioned at the beginning about my dad and his love to sing. However, I want to mention the fact that my dad had a twin brother Paul, and “oh how they could harmonize”. My fondest memory of listening to them singing was when I went with the two of them in the car to visit an uncle about 100 miles from home. It wasn’t long before we left home that they were singing and they sang a lot of songs in Swedish, but also songs from the 30s and the 40s. One of the songs they sang in English first and then in Swedish was a song “After The Ball Is Over”.

Peter and Paul Stone

Mostly, I like words and music. There are some instrumental pieces that I like, especially the piano. Mostly, I like words and music. There are some instrumental pieces that I like, especially the piano.

Music makes me happy.