Page 98 - "Is Your Father Dead Yet"? with Allan MacDougall of "Hughie & Allan"

ISSUE : Issue 63

Published by Ronald Caplan on 1993/6/1

that. Never. Never a place that we weren't called back, in all that time. We just made it a point, you know. Hughie was a very religous fellow. He was in the choir down at the Presbyterian Church, he was in the men's club, and he was in the board of managers, and all the rest, you know. He was very sincere in what he believed and what he did. I'm a mickey myself; I go to church. But that's about it. I don't do any great big deals or anything. But we never--we never offended anybody in all that time. We could go back somewhere, and have women coming up, shaking our hands, "Glad to see you back, because you don't do anything wrong, and you make us laugh, and you make us happy." It's a great feeling. I can go anywhere, you know. And I see people coming. I don't have to turn away or hide my head or anything.... We just made it a point, like I said. Hugh? ie was a very straightlaced fellow, a ter? rific entertainer, but wouldn't budge an inch in the wrong way. You know, he never NOW AT 229 Kings Road SYDNEY FOURTRAX? 300 • Full-time 4-wheel drive • Ultra-low first gear for heavy loads • Wide-ratio 5-speed transmission with reverse • 282cc single-cylinder air-cooled 4-strDke engine CraX3004X4) ' Stay Tuned through the Summer! "Welcome to Cape Breton" 9:00 am to 10:00 am FEATUmNG • Traditional Music Local Cape Breton information Tourist Destinations ' • Special Events CJCB Al/I Stereo- Cape Breton's Super Station! did anything wrong. He never took a drink, he never smoked. Just straight as a die. The fellow Rita MacNeil signed up with at that time, after she did her first show somewhere. Brooks Diamond--called Hughie and I the second time we were on the "Mes? ser Show." Called, found out what hotel we were staying at. And called up, wanted to come up and see us. And I said okay, so he came up. And he said, "How about me taking you fellows on?" He said, "You need a man? ager, and you can go a long way," he said, "from the reaction of the 'Messer Show,' you can go somewhere." Hughie said, "We can't sign anything." He said, "We can't sign a deal with you," he said. "Allan might--he's in the car busi? ness. I suppose he can take time off and go back in at some other time. But," he said, "I've got 15 more years at Swift's, and I've got a pension scheme down the road at the end of it, and all that." He said, "I can't throw that away, and gamble on making it by going around the country." So, Brooks Diamond understood.... (When I first came to Cape Breton, over 20 years ago, I would go to our community concerts on the North Shore.... And Mur? dock MacDonald--he used to dress up like you. And he would come out and he would do a kind of Hughie-and-Allan skit with his brother Roddie. And I wonder how many peo? ple were doing that around the island.) Oh, yeah. Many, many, many places. We'd go somewhere, and they'd tell us. There were two girls from somewhere Down North--older girls. They came here one day to see me. And they said, "You might hear that we're putting on old overalls and stuff, and doing some of your stuff." And I said, "It's a free country," I said, "and you just go right ahead." She said, "Yeah, but we tell some of your stories." I said, "Great. If people want to laugh at them, that's good." 98

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