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My father came to America
from Nova Scotia, Canada. He kept to his
family's roots and traditions by playing Scottish jigs and reels on his
fiddle. Later when I was teaching 8th grade in 1968, a student approached me
about playing the bagpipes because of my fondness of Scotland. I
thought it was a neat idea, so I helped him find an instructor, Fraser
McCarthy. One day Fraser showed up on my doorstep with a practice chanter.
He warned my wife that it was a sickness, and I didn't know how true
that was at the time.
Soon I joined the Albany Scots Pipeband and in 1971 I was one of four Albany Scots
who left the band to form the Oregon State Defense Force Pipeband.
Now I'm the last plank owner of the original band. Over the
years, I've seen the quality of piping and drumming go way up. My advice to a
young aspiring piper or drummer: find yourself a qualified instructor and
practice like crazy.
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