Glengarry Old Time Fiddlers

From Glengarryceltic

The Glengarry Old Time Fiddler organization was formed on March 26, 1966 in Maxville. The purpose was to promote and preserve old time fiddle music and its related arts. Ron Clare was the first president and Fred Leroux is the only playing member that has been there since the very beginning.

The organization used to have four dances a year. Often the evening began with a concert, followed by a dance at the Community Hall in Maxville. The bar was in the basement where beer was fifty cents and liquor was eighty-five cents!

In 1991 the group released their first album, 25th Anniversary Tape. It sold out in no time and a second recording, By Request was made in 1995. In 1998 the group released a CD entitled Memories, in memory of the late Bev MacQueen, Gerald Mackie and Alexander (Sandy) McRae. The latest album, After Forty Years, is a celebration of the group’s 40th anniversary in 2006.

A non-profit organization, the group survives on donations, the proceeds from dances and the sale of tapes and CDs. in the last twenty years alone, they have donated over $40,000 to a variety of groups including the Maxville Manor, Children’s Aid, Baldwin House, the Children’s Treatment Centre, the Apple Hill Medical Clinic, the Dunvegan Museum, fiddle contests and teachers promoting fiddle music. A highlight of the year is their Christmas dinner and dance at which they donate $2000.00 to charities and worthy causes.

At present there are 15 active members: 13 fiddlers, one bass player and one pianist. Sherrill Trottier looks after bookings, fiddle practices and music. Practices are twice monthly and the group entertains between 50 and 60 times a year, mostly for seniors from Lachute, Cornwall, St. Regis and many places in between.

The Old Time Fiddlers wear blue jackets and Glengarry Highland Games tartan ties or bows.