Reuben Ross
From Glengarryceltic
Reuben B. Ross live from 1900 to 1977. His son, Rev. Bruce Ross wrote the following in May 2006:
I don't know where my Dad learned to fiddle - perhaps from his Dad, Alex (Sandy) Ross, of Russell, Ontario. In any case, he certainly loved old time music and after our family moved to Lancaster in 1938, we both got bitten by the Cape Breton music bug -an incurable condition, thankfully.
In the cold winter mornings back in the late '30s and '40s, as Dad would be stoking the kitchen stove, he'd often have the radio on featuring French fiddlers from Quebec such as Isidore Soucy and others. I think it was George Wade and his Corn Huskers in the '30s who were also popular in our home. With the music of George Wade, Don Messer, Quebec, Glengarry and Cape Breton, Dad had a formidable repertoire of tunes. He'd say to me, "Get those knees apart and give yourself some room for bowing." As my teacher, the first tune he taught me was the old hymn, I am so Glad That our Father in Heaven. It's even easier than Twinkle Twinkle.
Dad and my mother Hazel, good friends of Martin and Olive Ferguson often got together with them for evenings of fiddling, with Olive at the piano for the most part. Clarence and Edna MacMillan were also important friends in our musical memories, not only for fiddling and piano playing, but for teaching us Schottisches, the Spanish Boston and tunes like The Wedding of the Crows.
Dad and I developed a routine whereby we'd hold our fiddle to the other's chin and finger and bow the other's fiddle. We did this stunt fairly well, but usually got laughing so hard at the sheer nonsense of it that we'd have to stop -or drop.
Sometimes he'd hear a fiddler/violinist who was so good that he would threaten to go home and jump on his fiddle. In fact, we'd both do that. I'd occasionally suggest that we wait 24 hours and maybe we'd feel better about our own playing.
There was the Ross Orchestra, which consisted of Dad (fiddle) and Cliff Britton (banjo) together with my kid sister Betty (Scott) at the piano and yours truly on the fiddle. We played mostly in Bainsville Hall. As a student at Williamstown High in those days, I could pick up a cool $4.00 for the evening. We played Rubber Dolly until I was ready to jump on anyone's fiddle!
Our family's move to Lancaster in 1938 is one of the many events in my life for which I'm very thankful. Since both Dad and Mother were musical, the sounds of Glengarry soon became part of our family life and fun. We nearly missed out on this, however; Dad had a choice with this Ontario Hydro post-depression transfer -either Lancaster or Stratford. It was a close call!
