Band Trips

Among my best memories of high school were my times spent in the music room. I loved playing my trumpet in the band.

I wasn't an outstanding player but I held my own and would often be placed in first or second position. In my last year in the senior stage band, I was given a piece of music where I played fifth trumpet and though I was being demoted, but that arrangement actually had me standing out from the rest of the other trumpets. It was a great piece and I gave one of my best performance playing it during a competition against other regional high schools.

We won, that year. I wish I remembered the name of that piece.

But when we were in grade 10, our music teacher and band leader, Geoff "Link" Linklater, took the junior concert band on our first trip outside our city. It was part of a student exchange between our band and another, in Sydney, Nova Scotia.

The Sydney band members came to Ottawa, first, and we billeted them in our homes. When it was our turn to head out east, the Sydney folks opened their homes to us.

Our tour started by rail, where we took a train from Ottawa. I don't remember where we got off the train but I do have memories of seeing Québec City, by night, crossing over the Pont de Québec Bridge. I remember a stop at a small town in the middle of the night, where I jumped off our car, which was close to the engine, and ran to the end of the train before we set out again.

I had climbed onto the last car and took my time returning to our band's car, having stopped in the dining car for a soft drink before continuing. When I finally arrived in my proper car, Link, one of my friends, and another teacher were in a panic because they thought I didn't get back on the train before it pulled out.

I was in the doghouse for the remainder of our train ride.

I also remember the train crossing into Nova Scotia, coming into Amherst. There's something about the flat, open, low-lying landscape that looks out to one of the terminal forks of the Bay of Fundy that left such an impression with me that I think back to that trip every time I've passed that way since.

We arrived late in the night, to Antigonish, and took a chartered bus to St. Francis Xavier University, where we stayed in residence for the night. One of our band mates, Wendy, had grandparents in Antigonish so she was allowed to stay with them, instead.

The next day, we climbed aboard our chartered bus and made our way to Cape Breton Island and, onward, to Sydney. I remember sitting at the back of the bus, listening to my portable stereo (ghetto blaster, we called them), and Andy asked me to play his cassette tape of Rush's Permanent Waves. And, when we tried to find radio stations, we found a frequency that matched the bus engine, and for a long time, we just listened to the buzz of the motor through stereo speakers.

It was a great trip.

As my high school prepares for a 50th anniversary reunion, next year, DW, who also attended the same school, is following a group on Facebook. As with the photo I shared on my blog, a few weeks ago, and gave DW to share with the group, other alumni have been sharing memories and images.

One person, who was in the junior band in the same year as this Nova Scotia trip, shared a photo of our band in front of our chartered bus. The description says that this photo was shot in Bathurst, New Brunswick.

I don't remember much of our return trip—whether we took the bus all the way back to Ottawa or took a train part of the way—but I do remember that we did make some stops along the way home, performing at various schools and venues.

This photo was taken on our return home. It's the spring of 1981. I don't know who took the photo, though it was possibly taken by Link or one of our other teacher-chaperons. It was shared on the Facebook group by one of the clarinet players in the band.

Can you find me? I highly doubt it.

First of all, I was a string bean and had a lot longer hair than I do now. I'm also only partially visible, as I'm at the back of the crowd.

I'm not even looking at the camera.

Here I am:

I look at this picture and I remember quite a few people: Jamie, Wendy, Kathryn, Rick, Bart, Val, Andy, Andrew, Sandy, Peter, Stephen, Don, Tina. I recognize so many other faces but can't pin a name to them.

And, as much as I search this photo, I can't find my best friend, Stuart, who played the French horn. I know he was on this trip.

This was our first band trip away from home. It wouldn't be our last. And oh, the stories I could tell...

Happy Thursday!