Page 84 - Kieran Ballah Remembers M.J

ISSUE : Issue 48

Published by Ronald Caplan on 1988/6/1

25 women, 30 men, about 40 boys up in that choir loft in Sacred Heart Church. Oh, enormous choirs he had, at Sacred Heart Church. Filled that choir loft. And they had a big pipe organ there. That was broadcast. The (first Midnight Mass) church service broadcast on CJCB was the Sacred Heart Mass. Robbie Robertson did the (technical) in those days. (Frank Mac? lntyre. and later Roland Maclntyre. did the announcing. Robbie Robertson told us that in the latter years Midnight Mass was broadcast from Rome, putting an end to the local broadcasts.) Dad would start at 11:30 with carols in the church. And traditional? ly at midnight, 12 o'clock, was "Silent Night"--the whole big choir. And then, Lat? in masses, you know, heavy--4- and 5-part harmony productions of numbers. Big--you know, "Kyrie eliesons" and "Glorias." They'd have the whole thing. Very beautiful. But he worked hard. That would be the big thing in his life for about 20 years, was that choir--25 years. So, consequently, our time at Christmas was Christmas Eve. Even as a little boy. You'd go to bed. And Santa La Fleur du Rosier Acadian folksongs collected by Dr. Helen Creighton Includes musical notation for each song and English translations of all lyrics. Introduction by Dr. Ronald Labelle, Universite de Moncton. 0 m fe ' ' txm-vt A I'eau rfcz: 1 I > J Jl 1 J. = ff 1 f" p P ??i bel ?? le que 1!' J' !> j } h=', je me ?f4= J ' J =J=' • oil bu . ='=h J'|J. . J. J got '' Nn j'?i f, 1 Y =' lone ' temps que je m.i. 3. rf La Fleur du Rosier will be available in bookstores or from the UCCB Press in September 1988. We are now tabing advance orders, Hard Cover: $39.95 Soft Cover: $24.95 An Anthology of Cape Breton Poetry Back in February the UCCB Press put out a call for Cape Breton poets to submit samples of their work for possible inclusion in an upcoming anthology. The response was overwhelming. More than 600 poems landed on our desk. The Editorial Board, headed by Dr. Clay Warren, will be selecting the best of these poems, and publishing them along with some of the finest Cape Breton poetry of the 19th and 20 th centuries. The Anthology will be published in June. Available in local retail stores or from the UCCB Press. For further information or to order now, contact: University College of Cape Breton Press P.O. Box 5300 Sydney, Nova Scotia, BIP 6L2 Tel. (902) 539-5300 Ext. 146 Claus never came until after 4 in the morn? ing. Because we would get up and have din? ner at 2 o'clock in the morning. My mother would stay home, and she'd prepare the din? ner for the family. And when the mass was over, at 1:30 or whatever time it was, they'd come home and that would be a big, big turkey or chicken dinner at our place, at 1 or 2 o'clock in the morning. No liquor or anything involved. And so the kids all got up. And Santa Claus still never got here! It's just time for dinner! And we ate, and go back to bed. As small as we were. We did that every year. But that would be his feast. Because he'd be exhausted. He'd be exhausted. He went to St. F. X., Dad did. Back--oh. it must have been in 1920--something in the '20s, I guess. I don't know what he was taking. And he wasn't home more than 2 or 3 years. It must have been near 1930, because the store went out of business. Grandpa lost everything he had in the stock markets. Yeah, Grandpa lost everything--everything he had--thousands of dollars. He couldn't read or write English. But he was talked into buying these shares in businesses. One of these smart guys, I suppose, coming from up the line, God knows where. He put thou? sands of dollars in the stock market. Grandpa did, and then, lost the whole thing. They kept the building. The business went out of business. Grandma lived in the building for a few years after Grandpa died. I don't remember Grandpa--he died just before I was born. (So your grandmother stayed in the build? ing.) She stayed in Louisbourg. Didn't keep the store going. She just lived upstairs in the store, and they rented the front part of the store to some people for a restau? rant or something. A Chinaman rented it, I think, for awhile. Bay Natural Foods "For Your Health's Sake Buy Natural Foods" HOME BAKING Great Selection of Vitamins and Minerals Beer- and Wine-Making Supplies Bulk Herbs and Spices by the Ounce or Pound C.O.D. Orders Accepted by Mail or Pfione Glace Bay 35 Commercial Street 849-4387 Sydney Across from K-Mart, toward Schwartz 539-6767 STOCK UP! GAS UP! and CHEER UP! at the Wreck Cove General Store Groceries * Snack Bar * Ice Cream * Film Gasoline * Barbecue * Lobster Pound * ON THE CABOT TRAIL *

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