The Fort Frances Highlanders Pipes and Drums has been around for more than 50 years, yet it has continued to capture support from the surrounding communities as seen with the donations toward its newly-revamped bus.
“The biggest change with the band this summer is that we had a bus donated to us by Bob Dimit,” noted local Pipe Major (musical director) Dr. Bruce Lidkea, who joined the band in 1997.
“We started making some phone calls and found a great deal of community support for turning a donated bus into something we could actually use,” he said.
“For example, we had George Oltsher from Barwick Service donate the safety [inspection] and the repairs necessary to make it safe.”
West End Motors offered the paint required to transform the old yellow school bus into a representation of the blue-and-white Scottish flag while Busch’s Automotive donated all the painting supplies.
But the outpour of support didn’t stop there.
“Don Manty painted the bus at no charge and we had Joe Bobczynski donate the lettering,” Dr. Lidkea indicated.
In addition, Lakewood Tire provided some tires while Sight & Sound is donating a stereo for inside the vehicle.
“The people that are involved with the Fort Frances Highlanders are donating a fair bit of time and obviously there are people in the community that see that and appreciate it and are willing to give back,” said Dr. Lidkea.
“We really appreciate it.
“I’m exceptionally pleased with how the community supported the bus project,” he added. “Everyone I called, there was no hesitation.
“It just blew me away and I think it hopefully speaks volumes for what people think of the Fort Frances Highlanders and what we do.”
Dr. Lidkea said having a bus this summer has made getting to their functions—community festivals and parades, many of which are located in northern Minnesota—much easier.
“It’s so helpful having a bus rather than having to organize a fleet of vehicles to go on road trips,” he noted. “Last season we were bringing five or six vehicles on the road with us, which can be a logistical nightmare.
Dr. Lidkea said he and fellow band member Terry Newman both got their commercial bus driver’s licence in order to drive the bus.
“He’s unquestionably the handiest man in the band,” Dr. Lidkea said of Newman. “He put in storage racks in the bus and has done a fair bit of work on the bus, putting in tables and coach seating—it’s great.”
The bus also provides a more “community band” feel when they are on the road,” he noted.
“And we have enough room that we can bring family and friends along with us—everyone’s invited,” he enthused.
Dr. Lidkea also stressed since there are not a lot of Pipe and Drum bands in the region, anyone is welcome to join the band, which normally consists of about 25 members.
He noted the majority of the musicians hail from Fort Frances, particularly from the local air and sea cadet corps, but there are members from across the district and into Minnesota.
“We’re definitely a teaching organization,” Dr. Lidkea explained. “Every year we invite new students in and work with them all winter long to get them up and ready to participate in our performance season, which is really June, July, and August.”
Dr. Lidkea believes being involved in the band is a great hobby.
“I think the rewarding thing for me is seeing the students I’ve taught become confident musicians, being able to play on their own,” he said, noting the majority of students who do stick with playing bagpipes as a hobby continue to play well into their senior years.
He hopes the players they have developed will go away to university and eventually return and rejoin the band.
However, the band already has been growing and building its talent with Bill Shine coming on board to actively teach the drum corps.
And often, the local Highland dancer group joins the Pipe and Drum band in parades or concerts to offer up an excellent show.
“Ten years ago, the band consisted of just a handful of guys and certainly it’s grown significantly since then,” Dr. Lidkea said. “It’s not a dying art, but it’s not something you hear all the time.”
But he also would like to get more youngsters involved with the Pipes and Drum band.
His eight-year-old son, Cameron, has been marching with the band for several years, but this year is his first for contributing musically.
“He’s really enjoying it,” Dr. Lidkea enthused. “Now that he’s eight, his hands are big enough that he’s going to start taking bagpipe lessons.
“We’d love to get more people that age involved. I’d love to see it to the point where we have nothing but youth band.”
Dr. Lidkea really thinks it is a good activity for youths to participate in.
“Not only do you get to travel around to see a lot of the community events and a lot of different towns and cities in northern Minnesota, but I think for parents it’s a great thing because it’s not a horribly expensive hobby for the kids,” he noted, adding the band picks up travel and meal costs as well as a portion of the uniform.
“All the player needs to do is put their time and effort into becoming a confident musician. Once they do that, then we invest in them,” he added.
In addition to rehearsing every Thursday in the parking lot behind the post office, members of the Pipes and Drum group have participated in the Fort Frances School of Celtic Arts summer program, which has been held every second year.
“It allows us to bring in top-level players from around North America to teach regional players,” Dr. Lidkea explained. “It’s been really helpful.
“Even if it’s the stuff I’m teaching, it’s nice to hear it from a pro.”
They hope to hold the school here again next summer.
Dr. Lidkea added it’s not extremely difficult to learn to play the bagpipes, noting it might take a year or two to play reasonably at a beginner level.
He only began playing the instrument 10 years ago and now he’s the musical director of the group.
“I moved back to Fort Frances to start my [optometry] practice and I don’t fish. And in Fort Frances if you don’t fish, you better have a hobby,” he laughed.
“I thought it would be a great place to spend my time and effort. And so far, so good.”
Fort Frances Times
Local News from Across the Rainy River District
