Barrie concert band member says so long after 70 seasons
It was the end of an era on Tuesday night as the Barrie Concert Band gathered for their weekly rehearsals, but this time they were playing out their longest-tenured member ever.
For 70 seasons, 94-year-old George Cairns has been behind the band's trumpet. Cairns has a lifelong passion for music and joined the army band before his 7-decade run with Barrie's instrumental leaders.
"I love the sound you can produce on it, and every once in a while, you get a nice high note you can play," Cairns said. "It's a part of my social life. It's just something I do every Tuesday night."
On Tuesday, the man who his colleagues describe as quiet and kind was forced into the spotlight. His fellow bandmates played some of Cairns' favourite tunes and welcomed back some of his friends who had already made the step to say farewell to the band.
"He has been just a pillar. He's always been here," says Angela Vanderstelt, the band's president. "He's always been an incredible community member. He's always been very inspiring and always so happy. We're going to miss that."
Marc Hunter started in the Barrie Concert Band when he was 14 years old and was seated right next to Cairns in those early days.
"George was Mr. Consistency. He never missed," Hunter says. "For him, it was a duty to do like he did in the army. You say you are going to do it; you show up, and you do it."
The band has always been a part of the Hunter family, partly due to Cairns himself. Not only did he play with Marc on his first day back in the 1960s, but Cairns also once played with Marc's father.
"He played lead trumpet with my father for years," Hunter says. "As a matter of fact, he got my father to join the band, and that's how I ended up playing in the band as well, and my wife and daughter still play in the band with us. It's been a family thing."
While formal rehearsals with the band may be ending, Cairns says his passion for music isn't going anywhere.
"Well, I'll still play the trumpet at home, a little bit."
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Quebec nurse had to clean up after husband's death in Montreal hospital
On a night she should have been mourning, a nurse from Quebec's Laurentians region says she was forced to clean up her husband after he died at a hospital in Montreal.
Northern Ont. lawyer who abandoned clients in child protection cases disbarred
A North Bay, Ont., lawyer who abandoned 15 clients – many of them child protection cases – has lost his licence to practise law.
Bank of Canada officials split on when to start cutting interest rates
Members of the Bank of Canada's governing council were split on how long the central bank should wait before it starts cutting interest rates when they met earlier this month.
Maple Leafs fall to Bruins in Game 3, trail series 2-1
Brad Marchand scored twice, including the winner in the third period, and added an assist as the Boston Bruins downed the Toronto Maple Leafs 4-2 to take a 2-1 lead in their first-round playoff series Wednesday
Cuban government apologizes to Montreal-area family after delivering wrong body
Cuba's foreign affairs minister has apologized to a Montreal-area family after they were sent the wrong body following the death of a loved one.
'It was instant karma': Viral video captures failed theft attempt in Nanaimo, B.C.
Mounties in Nanaimo, B.C., say two late-night revellers are lucky their allegedly drunken antics weren't reported to police after security cameras captured the men trying to steal a heavy sign from a downtown business.
What is changing about Canada's capital gains tax and how does it impact me?
The federal government's proposed change to capital gains taxation is expected to increase taxes on investments and mainly affect wealthy Canadians and businesses. Here's what you need to know about the move.
New Indigenous loan guarantee program a 'really big deal,' Freeland says at Toronto conference
Canada's Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland was among the 1,700 delegates attending the two-day First Nations Major Projects Coalition (FNMPC) conference that concluded Tuesday in Toronto.
'Life was not fair to him': Daughter of N.B. man exonerated of murder remembers him as a kind soul
The daughter of a New Brunswick man recently exonerated from murder, is remembering her father as somebody who, despite a wrongful conviction, never became bitter or angry.