the flin flon glee club: early...

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– Dorothy Hayden –

Note from the Editor: The following excerpts are from a recently unearthed copy of “Flin Flon Glee Club: The First Sixteen Years 1946-1962”, which was recovered along with a scrapbook of the Glee Club’s achievements by a relation of Debbie and Murray MacDonald just before it was about to be discarded. The text will be presented as in the primary source when possible, with minor typographical corrections as neces-sary.

ForewordOne song leads on to another,One friend to another friend,So I’ll travel alongWith a friend and a song.-Wilfred GibsonWhen, at the annual meeting in 1961, I was assigned the

task of recording the history of the Flin Flon Glee Club, the thought in people’s minds probably was that I would go quietly off into a corner and get on with it.

Fortunately, from my viewpoint, this did not prove to be the case. Dust has been stirred up in many musty old cor-ners; brains have been picked from Victoria to Toronto; veteran members of the Club have been browbeaten into

taking their pens in hand; Earl Watson’s scrapbook lies in tatters, and my friends wish they had never heard the word “history”. My sincere thanks to you all.

From these rumblings has emerged a picture of a club whose story I am proud and happy to record. It has been a warm and bubbling leaven in the social and cultural life of Flin Flon ever since its inception. To its members it has brought many lifelong friendships, and the surprising dis-covery that making music together is even more fun than listening to it.

This, then, is your Glee Club.Signed Dorothy Hayden, Historian. February 15,

1962.Beginnings(excerpts from the first minutes)The Flin Flon Glee Club came to life at a meeting in the

Sewing Room of Jubilee Hall on Sunday, November 3, 1946 at 4:00 in the afternoon.

Ron Price acted as chairman of the meeting, and there were 45 people present.

The chairman pointed out that the meeting had been called for the purpose of organizing a Glee Club and it was suggested that The Pirates of Penzance might be suitable for the first major production. Mrs. Doris Bell accepted the

The Flin Flon Glee Club:

The Pirates of Penzance: The policemen listen for the latest gossip, 1947.

EarlyYears

Reproduced with permission from Cottage North Magazine. www.cottagenorthmagazine.ca

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appointment as music director.The meeting then proceeded to the election of officers

and the following were duly nominated:President – Ron PriceVice President – Dan ForshawRecording Secretary – Vera TweedyC o r r e s p o n d i n g

Secretary – Margaret Huckstep

Treasurer – Ozzie Buchanan

Mr. Gerry Quinney proposed that the Club might consider proceed-ing with a Christmas program as a prelimi-nary to the Club’s main performance. This would be in the form of a carol festival, combin-ing carols by the Glee Club with various national groups who would be invited to present numbers. It was suggested that the Northland Theatre would be the most suit-able place for this concert.

It was decided that the organization be named The Flin Flon Glee Club. This met with the approval of all those present.

***The Christmas Concert, as mentioned above, was duly

held in the Northland Theatre. Various national groups presented songs from their homelands; soloists for the Glee Club were John Vicars and Cecilia Allen.

The following is taken from a radio broadcast aired in the spring of 1947:

JIM (Announcer): We have with us four members of the Flin Flon Glee Club execu-tive: Ron Price, Dan Forshaw, Mrs. Billie Ash and Maisie Gray.

Ron, I believe the Glee Club is one of the more recent clubs to affiliate with the Community Club. Could you tell me just how and why it came to be organized?

RON: Yes, Jim. Flin Flon is as appreciative musically as any other town, maybe more so, due to its isolation. The question has been fre-quently raised as to why members of the different church choirs and other accomplished and amateur musicians

could not get together and stage some good musical shows. During the seven years I’ve lived here, I’ve witnessed several unsuccessful attempts by individuals and groups, including the Community Club, to form such a collective organiza-tion. Two years ago, a group of boys at the plant decided what Flin Flon needed was a good minstrel show. They had

a lot of fun arranging the program and pur-chased some of the music, but then their musical director moved away from town and all their plans fell through. Last November, how-ever, a happy combina-tion of interest and tal-ent, and most impor-tant of all, available directors, made possi-ble the organization of the Glee Club. Seven weeks after organizing, we presented the Christmas Song Fest, under the able direc-tion of Mrs. Bell, whom you all know.

JIM: I understand then, that the Glee Club is really a community set-up?

DAN: It sure is, Jim. It is our wish to have representa-tives from all walks of life – from all denominations and nationalities. Our aims speak for themselves. Perhaps Maisie will read them to you from our Constitution.

MAISIE: Our aims are to encourage an interest in music and promote a spirit of co-operation among the adult mem-bers of the community, and to present musical productions

that will appeal to all.JIM: That tells you

all there is to know as to the type of club this is. Can you give us some idea as to the size of the Club?

MAISIE: Yes, I can. There are 74 members at present, with every indication of more joining.

JIM: The Christmas Song Fest was an out-standing success and a lot of complimentary remarks were made around the Plant. I didn’t expect that peo-ple would go for that type of program, but

they really did. I under-stand that it was not your major production of the year?

BILLIE: No, it wasn’t, Jim. Right now we are learning Gilbert and Sullivan’s “Pirates of Penzance”, to be presented during the third week of March. Do you want to tell our

Where the sets lacked in splendor, the costumes made up the difference.

(l-r) T. Scarth, J. MacKinnon, C. Mayes.


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radio audience something about it, Ron?RON: Yes. Although these two chaps, Gilbert and Sullivan, did

their composing over 60 years ago, it seems that the only effect of the passing years has been to enhance the popularity of their work. Now, a lot of people on hearing the words “Light Opera” think immediately of “Grand Opera” on a small scale. Actually a Gilbert and Sullivan opera is musical comedy, and a burlesque of Grand Opera and of certain British traditions. It is filled with catchy tunes, and crisp, witty dialogue. The Pirates of Penzance has a cast of 10 principals and 3 choruses, consisting of a bevy of beautiful maidens, a band of overly friendly pirates and a force of well-intentioned but somewhat timid policemen. You can see that when this motley group is assembled, anything can happen and the two authors made the most of it to give an entertaining story, full of romance and suspense.

JIM: That’s what we want – lots of romance, action and sus-pense. But tell me, will all 74 members be on stage at once in this production?

BILLIE: Where would you get a stage in Flin Flon to accom-modate 74 people?

DAN: We haven’t a stage to accommodate 74 people just now, but as time progresses and interest widens, it is possible that we shall have a building with a stage that will accommodate any type of production we would care to put on.

BILLIE: Until such time, however, it does not mean that our 74 members are not taking part in the production. There is much work to be done in connection with scenery, lighting, costumes, make-up, staging, publicity and others too numerous to mention.

JIM: I understand that you rehearse every Sunday afternoon. How are these arranged?

John Spencer as Leonard Meryll in Yeoman of the Guard.


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MAISIE: There are three choruses, and they take turns in coming early for practices, which start at 1:30 p.m. on Sundays. I think that here I speak for the entire Glee Club in paying tribute to Mrs. Bell, who starts work when the first chorus arrives and doesn’t leave until the last chorus has finished, and continues working with the principals during the week.

JIM: I see you have Mrs. Allen, one of your principals here – do you think we could persuade her to give a selec-tion?

RON: I think we could. What do you say, Cece? Cece takes the part of Mabel, the heroine, and this is the song she sings – “Poor Wandering One” – to her pirate lover.

Ed: “The Pirates of Penzance” was performed in the Community Hall March 20-22, 1947 to the great acclaim of an audience numbering over 2000 members of the Flin Flon popula-tion. We’re now going to jump to an entry that relates one Dan Forshaw’s thoughts on the staging of those early produc-tions:

“Thinking back to the early days of Glee Club from a back stage joe-boy’s viewpoint, I am reminded of our first production, Pirates of Penzance, when all we had for a stage was a square box with a very high ceiling, from which hung a lot of long eye-bolts – for what purpose they were there I

cannot say, but certainly they were no use for a stage production. No means what-ever of fastening up wings, the result was we had to fas-ten them onto the sides of the building with battens and wire – no back drop and a most horrible old curtain, which consisted of a big sheet of canvas slung on two pipes (one top and one bot-tom) with a counter-balance in the corner, which was very difficult to handle. Scenery changes were a dif-ficult and slow process, tak-ing approximately fifteen minutes between acts. Later, we acquired a new curtain and a framework to support the wings, but we still had difficulty fastening up flies, which made it necessary to have ladders around a limit-

ed backstage. Eventually we got a catwalk built all the way around, which helped us considerably in all ways, particu-larly in reducing scenery-hanging time to less than five minutes, with a much smaller crew and no ladders.

“To get the cast on stage promptly and from both sides gave difficulty due to a very limited space between the back-drop and outside wall. They had to go sideways to avoid the backdrop that, if touched, would waver like a leaf in the wind. Great care had to be taken concerning lighting as circuits were limited and this made us very fire-conscious. Consequently stage lighting often left much to be desired

and was very frustrating to the producer owing to shadows in the wrong places. Dressing the men posed a problem, accom-modation being sup-plied in a little room up a flight of creaky stairs backstage, and another small room normally used by members of the Handcraft Club.

“Despite all difficul-ties, dressing, makeup, stage settings, etc. we had loads of fun and our productions always started on time – promptly at 8 o’clock – a tradition still main-tained by the Glee Club.” – D. Forshaw

Ed – The next play on the Glee Club’s radar was “The Mikado”, which ran from April 5-10, 1948. But I’m getting ahead of myself in my enthusiasm! I’ll let the insistently concise, illuminatingly delightful words of Dorothy Hayden take the

The stage and sets eventually became more extravagant.

Many parts were doubled in the production of The Pirates of Penzance.


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chronological reigns once again:The pattern for future years in the Glee Club was estab-

lished by the first season; the club continued the practice of staging a variety concert at Christmas with special emphasis on seasonal music, and the big production, for several years a Gilbert and Sullivan light opera, was performed in the spring.

1947 was no excep-tion as a Yuletide Concert was put on in the Community Hall with 135 voices, of whom 60 were Juniors. The Carol of the Bells was introduced to Flin Flon at this concert. “Little Christmas Carols” were sung by four of the younger members of the club, and the performance concluded with the Hallelujah Chorus.

The MikadoThose were the days when Glee Club programs were lav-

ish! On the inside front cover of this one is a full page ad with the words, “CFAR GOING TO 1000 WATTS”.

The foreword by Clarence Merrell, Club President, reads thus: “No one has contributed more to the cultural development of Flin Flon than our music director, Mrs. Doris Bell. Throughout the years her untiring efforts and her true understanding of the people with whom she has worked, have been a great inspira-tion. Regarded with pro-found affection, Mrs. Bell is most worthy of the high place she holds in the musi-cal circles of the communi-ty.”

Malibars provided delightful oriental costumes for The Mikado; the scenic effects were by Mel Kilfoyle; Art Thompson was stage manager and make-up was in the capable hands of Lou Fabro.

In The Mikado, most of the parts were double-cast with the exceptions of Cece Allen and Ernie Bucher, who had the leading roles. This was Dorothy Liss’ first major part, that of

Katisha, which she sang on alternate nights with Mary Burrows.

Ed – There are so many interesting little tidbits of informa-tion in this booklet - it’s hard to choose what should get priority,

but this next bit is a piece of Glee Club legend that would be a crying shame to miss mentioning, as Ms. Hayden is about to inform you in our final excerpt:

John VickersSome mention should

certainly be made here of our most distinguished alumnus, Jon Vickers, who came here from Saskatoon to work as assistant manager in the local Woolworths store, and was introduced to Flin Flon audiences in our first Glee Club con-cert in 1946. He went on to play Frederic oppo-

site Cece Allen in “The Pirates of Penzance” and it didn’t take an authority in music to realize that here was someone with a talent beyond any-

one we had ever had here.After leaving here, Jon

went to Winnipeg and studied there while still working for Woolworths. He was appoint-ed soloist at Augustine United Church and appeared during this time in Naughty Marietta.

Realizing that his future must be in music, Jon pro-ceeded to Toronto, where he studied at the Royal Conservatory and sang in many oratorios and concerts throughout Eastern Canada. He sang annually in the per-formance of The Messiah, heard over the CBC under the baton of Sir Ernest MacMillan; recordings of this performance have been copied and sold widely.

Mr. Vickers got his first break in Grand Opera when he was invited to sing at Covent Gardens, London, and from here it was a short step to the Metropolitan, where he is currently appearing.

His voice has been described as one of the greatest Wagnerian tenors in the world today.

Keep your eye open for future excerpts from the History of the Flin Flon Glee Club here in Cottage North Magazine!

John Vickers (c) is threatened by pirates M. Burrows (l) and Harold Vance (r).

J. MacKinnon, looking quite regal.


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