. . |
.
.
|
Throughout this chronicle, the reader may find it useful to refer to the following: |
| Chapter(s): | Title: | Period: |
| One | Fletchers as Celts, Scots, and Highlanders | BCE 6000 to 1800 |
| Two | From the Highlands to Canadian Homestead | 1800 to 1900 |
| Chapter(s): | Title: | Period: |
| Three to Ten | James Fletcher III (my grandfather) | 1878 to 1972 |
| Chapter(s): | Title: | Period: |
| Twenty-one to Fortynine | The Life of David Fletcher | born 1955 |
.
.
.
.
Chapter Nineteen: Being a Senior Golfer and Songsheet Collector (1983 - 1993)
|
.
.
.
.
Being a Senior Golfer and Songsheet Collector (1983 - 1993) |
.
.
.
.
19.1 Songsheet Collecting
Some say that people who collect things do so because they can no longer relate to people, and so they obcess about objects they can control. John's obcession with song sheets is a good case in point.
At this time, John was making many trips to local sales, such as estate sales, garage sales, and the flea market at Harbourfront. He also made at least one trip per month to far away places. For example: Avon in upstate New York on 4 August, 1985.
|
.
.
.
.
.
.
|
. . . . . . 
.
. . . . . . . |
.
19.3 John's Life During This Period: 1983 to 1993Wedding Anniversary Celebrations
Friends, 1985John made reference in his diary about particularly enjoying a 4 June, 1985, party on the occasion of George McRae's retirement. George was the music teacher at Malvern for years. It was at this party that he saw many old teaching collegues (whom he had not seen for years) for the last time.LNS Re-union, 1985This party was followed closely by another. At this party John also many teaching collegues (whom he had not seen for years) for the last time. It was the London Normal School Re-union, held on 12 June, 1985, in Windsor. Many of the teachers that John had gone through teacher-training with in 1932-1933 attended, including: Betty (Godfrey) Smith, Marjorie Shouldice, Don Gay, Melvin McLean, Bob Jackson, Clifford Brown, Isobel Alexander, Harry Boyle, and Hugh Partlow. |
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
19.4 Esther Fletcher and the MacknessesBarbi's WeddingWe all went to Barbara Mackness's marriage to Michael Eykens on 2 August, 1985, at St. Lukes Church in London. There were Barbi's parents (Mom's brother) Murray and Freda; her older sister Debbie and her husband Blair; her brother Dale and his wife Janet (children: Amy, Laurie, Heather, and Brian); her oldest sister Linda and Ted Gallagher;Shirley and Emma's Golden AnniversaryOn 17 August, 1985, many visited Chatham to celebrate Shirley and Emma's Golden wedding anniversary. There was:
The Mackness family (Mom's generation) in 1990, in Murray's backyard: left to right:
Below is
Esther watching friend Frank and son David play chess.
Dale MacknessDale, the only son of Esther's younger brother Murray, was an enthusiastic golfer and enjoyed a very good relationship with our family. He married Janet and settled down to raising five children. He became a minister. |
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
|
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
Christmas, 1984, was celebrated on 22 December to accommodate Doris and I going to Quebec for the holidays. We were all together at 51 Beaufort: Bern, Ron and Allison, John and Esther, Doris and myself.
|
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
Tornadoes in SouthWestern Ontario, 31 May, 1985.
|
American PoliticsJohn's hero during this period was Ronald Reagan (right), right-wing Republican President of the United States. |
Canadian PoliticsIn Canada, we had Brian Mulroney (Prime Minister from 17 Sept. 1984 to _______) whom John also liked. |
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
| John was also interested in historical aspects of baseball. For example, he researched the first homerun hit by Babe Ruth. This was 5 September, 1914, and he did it playing at the Toronto Island's Hanland Point baseball park. It was a great homerun, bringing in three runs. At this time he was a pitcher for the team called "Providence" and in this game he pitched a no-hitter. |
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
| |
.
.
.
.
19.10 A Collection of 10,000 sheets by 1982
John especially liked sheet music which featured covers by the artist E.T. Paull.
|
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
19.11 A Collection of 14,000 sheets by 1984
|
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
19.12 Playing Music in the 1980s and 1990sMusic at LNS Re-unionJohn did extensive musical preparations before the London Normal School Re-union on 11 June, 1985. It was a big disappointment for him because the people there did not want to listen to his music. They did listen, but they wanted to sing at the same time. He did not want to be "back-up music for sing-songs". Even worse, he said that he was also treated as "back-up music for conversation". John said something to the M.C. which led to him saying to the crowd something about John wanting to do an instrumental. The M.C. intended this to mean that they should listed, but it upset John. He hated the word "instrumental". He thought that music was music and to use a specific word for music without vocal accompaniment as "instrumental" was to degrade the music.The re-union included a serman, which John says he could "live without" and concluded with a poem being read aloud, at which point in John's diary he wrote: "send in the clowns". Music at Murray and Freda's 40thThat same evening, 11 June, 1985, John and Esther visited Murray and Freda Mackness to celebrate their Fortyth wedding anniversary. John played violin.Music at Fathers' Day CelebrationLater that week, 16 June, 1985, David, Bern, and Ron were over to 51 Beaufort Road to celebrate Fathers' Day. (Doris was in Trois Rivieres). John played the violin again.
. . John playing at a party in the late 1990s. . . 
|
.
.
.
.
Next chapter |