Cape Breton's Magazine

olin players. And a woman called me up the other day, or I was talking to her, and she said, "About 50 years ago, do you remember when we went to your house? We brought a fellow in by the name of Penney from New Waterford, to play the violin." I said, "No, I don't quite remember that." And in those days, my father-in-law gave my daugh? ter the big piano, that Beattie got, and I had my own. And she said, "You had two pianos in the house." And that's 50 years ago. I had one in the front room and one in the dining room. And she said, "You were at the piano." I said, "I can't play now for beans," I told her. (Gary: Who were some of the fid? dlers that used to go there?) There was Johnny Wilmot. Charlie Campbell, he used to work in the office at the steel plant. And there was a fellow lives at the Shipyard, there--he still plays. I hear he still plays. And there was Scotty Fitzgerald. And there was Bud and there was Albert and there was George. Yes, there were 7 violin players there that night. (The fellow that lives at the Shipyard, would that be Joe MacLean?) MacLean, yeah, that's him. He played with Beattie in the Carpenters Hall for years. And Angus. Oh, Angus, yes. Angus Chisholm used to come, too. He was there that night. All fiddlers that night. (Let me ask you this question: Mr. Bouti? lier- -did he play French music at all?) No. No, no. The French music--he used to say, was a diddley-diddley-diddley. But he had a lovely--oh, a lovely touch. Didn't he, Gary? I'm not blowing, am I? I'm tell? ing the truth. If I live to be a hundred years old, I'll never say that anyone could play better than Albert Boutilier. ((?ary: Did he play the fiddle up until he died?) Oh, yes. That Dougie MacPhee came The Winston Fitzgerald Orchestra at the Venetian Gardens. L. to r.: Eddie Pastoni. Tupper MacAs? kill. Wqs Pretty. Bgattie Wallace. Jean Dixpn (not a bandmember). Estwood Davidson and Winston "Scotty" Fitzgerald. to the house one night. He went over to Beattie's--my daughter's--across the road. And it was raining. And she wasn't home. So he came over to my place. And (Albert) said, "Old woman"--he used to call me-- "Old woman, get the fiddle from behind the door." I had a table there, and I used to keep his violin. And he said, "I'm going to play a couple of tunes." He said, "Put the pillows up behind me." You know, he was bedfast for about a year and a half. I built him up on' the pillows in the bed. And he took the violin and he played, and Dougie played the piano with him. And that would be no more than 3 or 4 days before he died. Oh, he loved the violin. And when he'd pass me the violin to put it away, he'd say, "You be careful now, be careful of it. Be careful of it." He was so frightened something was going to happen to that violin. He wouldn't take a thou- -sand dollars for it. And it's 15 years, the last of this month, since he died--the 30th day of November, 19-and-73. And he was 88. And I was 79. I remember all those things, yes. (Did they play the fiddle at his funeral?) No. They wouldn't allow it. (They wouldn't allow it.) No. Because Scotty wanted to play for my daughter's (funeral)--Beattie Wallace--and the minister up here wouldn't allow it. But they do it now.... When Scotty first came to Cape Breton (Sydney), Beattie was the first one that played with Scotty. I hear his records on the Friday nights here. Sometimes they mention Beattie Wallace, but not too of? ten. (She was a wonderful piano player, from what I'm told.) Yeah, she was a good piano player, yes. And not only that. She didn't chord alone, like me. She played. Like the boats would come in. And the of- Cape Breton Auto Radiator co RADIATOR HOSES • REPAIRING • CLEANING • RECORING r..oi- . COMPLETE CYLINDER HEAD SERVICE '' 518 Grand auto * truck * industrial Sydney Lake Road Complete Line of Gas Tanks 564-6362 WE BUY AND WE SELL AND WERE AS NEAR AS YOUR TELEPHONE Sid's Used Furniture Phone 564-6123 436 Charlotte Street, Sydney WELCOME TO THE FULLY LICENSED Harbour Restaurant A Good Selection of Seafood OPEN ALL YEAR'ROUND Dining Roonri Overlooking Cheticamp Harbour Cheticamp, Cape Breton * 224-2042