“I was born and raised in Hamilton,
Ontario, and my parents were from the Isle of Lewis in Scotland. A lot
of the people from the Isle of Lewis who emigrated to Southern Ontario
for employment created an environment that was probably more
Highland than if I had been brought up in Scotland. We got together regularly and played music,
Gaelic songs, accordion music, and piping. So it was really a
very rich cultural upbringing. When I was about seven or eight years old I took lessons through the Hamilton East Kiwanis Boys Club (editorial note: with fellow student, Graeme Ogilvie). The piping program was under the instruction of Pipe Major Jock MacFarlane. Upon his death I went on to the City of Dundas Pipe band under Alan Munn and George Sherriff. Then I joined the Erskine Pipe Band, which was a new pipe band in Hamilton, under the direction of Pipe Major Sandy Keith."
Thank you to Graeme Ogilvie for writing this story!
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